


Nerds Are Sexy

by sinnerforhire



Series: 365 Days of J2 Fanfic [9]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Alternate Universe - Library, Bad Days, Baking, Barebacking, Birthday Sex, Black Eye, Blow Jobs, Bottom Jensen, Christmas Smut, Classical Music, Coffee, Cooking, Cosplay, Dogs, Fire, Gratuitous French, Handcuffs, Harry Potter References, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt Jensen, Hurt/Comfort, Jazz Appreciation, Light Bondage, M/M, Manhandling, Massage, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Moving In Together, Pets, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Riding, Rimming, Romantic Fluff, Sexual Roleplay, Shower Sex, Sick Jensen, Snowed In, Spanking, Star Wars References, Surgery, Sushi, Trains, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, Workplace Sex, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-09-09 08:51:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 42,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8884639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinnerforhire/pseuds/sinnerforhire
Summary: Jensen is a stereotypical librarian. Jared is a part-timer who reads comic books instead of novels. The two engage in a cultural exchange program as part of their burgeoning relationship.





	1. Chapter 1

Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki couldn’t have been more different.

Jensen was the Branch Librarian, the kind of man who wore sweater vests and ties and gray pinstripe trousers by choice, when the dress code would allow him to wear jeans and crewnecks. The kind of man who wrote “Dear Mr. Padalecki” at the beginnings of his emails to Jared and signed them “Sincerely, J. Ackles.” The kind of man who brought gourmet Italian coffee that he ordered online from some coffee shop in Naples. Jensen read nonfiction books exclusively, except for the odd Nabokov or Elena Ferrante novel, and checked out British television on DVD and the occasional biography audiobook. His displays were tasteful and understated, like the Pearl Harbor anniversary showcase, which included a replica newspaper and was featured on the library’s Instagram and Facebook pages. 

Jared was the polar opposite. He wore jeans and flannel shirts to work four out of five days a week. He drank Mountain Dew and Pepsi instead of coffee, and kept a package of sour rainbow belts in the workroom food/drink basket. He checked out graphic novels four or five at a time, and when he borrowed DVDs, they usually involved superheroes. His Christmas display included a cardboard-and-tissue-paper fireplace complete with a cardboard chimney that had Santa and reindeer faces popping out of it. He also made stockings with red and green glittery letters spelling out the library’s name. The display on the bookshelf was a mess of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa materials from both the juvenile and adult collections. DVDs, books on CD, music CDs, and books were crowded together on the three shelves above the fireplace. Jared loved it. Jensen tolerated it only because he’d been allowed to decorate the tree in tasteful blue, silver, and white ribbons; snowflake ornaments; white lights; and a lighted silver star on top. 

Jared knew that he was wasting his time pining over Jensen. Jensen was his boss, which meant that unless he wanted to transfer to another branch, he was completely off limits. Not to mention that they had absolutely nothing in common besides working in the same branch library. Jensen had an MLIS from Drexel. Jared had a bachelor’s in English Secondary Education from a small Anabaptist college that had a 75% female student body and a Level 1 teaching certificate he’d never used for anything but subbing. 

Jared’s email notification popped up as he was working on processing some new graphic novels. He pulled up the browser to see that it was an event message from Jensen. “Padalecki end-of-year-performance review - Thursday, December 15, 5:30 pm.” Jared’s breath caught in his throat. He’d known it was coming, but that still didn’t quite prepare him for the little thrill he got when contemplating time alone with Jensen in his office with the door closed. He clicked “Accept” and sent the response. Then he set up a reminder for that Thursday at 5:00 pm. His shift started at 4:00. 

Jared went back to snickering the new graphic novels, and by the time he finished checking them in he’d forgotten about his review. He went out to shelf-read for a while, leaving Felicia and Briana behind the desk to handle patrons. Jared had been out in the nonfiction stacks for about five minutes when Jensen appeared. “Hello, Jared,” he said in a low voice. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks,” said Jared. His heart was beating faster, like it always did when Jensen spoke to him.

Jensen plucked a book from the 740s, which was the art section. “Have you ever painted?” he asked, apropos of nothing.

“Just once, at my grandma’s house,” he replied. “She took some classes and she let my cousins and me play with her paints.”

Jensen nodded. “My sister signed me up for an acrylic painting class at the community college,” he explained. “She’s under the impression I don’t get out enough.”

“That sounds like fun,” said Jared, smiling.

Jensen shook his head. “I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. I appreciate art, don’t get me wrong, but creating it myself? No thanks.”

“When does it start?” 

Jensen raises an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, maybe you’d feel less self-conscious if you knew someone in the class,” said Jared, hoping he wasn’t being too forward. “And I’d love to learn actual technique. Maybe I’ll sign up too.”

Jensen shook his head. “I would never ask that of you.”

Jared smiled. “You’re not asking. I’m offering. As a friend.”

Jensen’s quiet library voice went even quieter. “I didn’t know we were friends.”

“I consider you my friend,” said Jared. “I like spending time with you. I’d definitely like to spend time with you outside of here.”

Jensen closed his eyes. “Jared, we can’t,” he whispered.

Jared frowned, confused. “Can’t what?”

“Can’t start something we’re not allowed to finish.” Jensen turns to him. “Not that I don’t want to, but there are rules. I value my job.”

“So do I,” Jared whispered back. “But I can do my job anywhere.”

Jensen takes a step closer. “Kim’s going to send an email tomorrow about a new position—Public Services Training Assistant. You need an education degree to apply for it. It’s full-time, and based out of the downtown branch.”

“I have a teaching degree,” Jared replied.

Jensen nodded. “I know. You meet all the qualifications. Apply for it and you’ll very likely get it. And then…”

Jensen didn’t have to finish the sentence. “I’ll do that,” murmured Jared. “But until then—”

“Until then, you are my subordinate,” said Jensen. “And we must avoid the appearance of impropriety.”

“What about the actual impropriety?” whispered Jared.

Jensen stepped so close to Jared that their shoulders touched. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” His breath was hot on Jared’s neck, and Jared shivered. “I’m going to the break room to eat at 3:30. Wait ten minutes and then meet me there.” 

Jared just nodded, afraid to speak and break the spell. Jensen brushed his hand lightly against Jared’s and turned to leave. Jared didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Jensen was gone.

Jared glanced at his watch. It was 2:57. He could easily spend the next forty minutes in the stacks and just disappear to the break room without attracting any attention. Briana was just about to leave, but Osric was coming in to replace her, and Felicia could back him up at the desk. A quickie in the break room wasn’t exactly what Jared had in mind, but it was _Jensen_ , whom Jared had been dreaming about fucking since about two minutes after they met. 

Jared tried to concentrate on his shelf reading, since he was doing nonfiction and he had complex numbers to deal with rather than just the alphabet, but every two minutes he found himself checking the clock, wishing it would hurry up. Finally, he saw Jensen come out of his office, inform Felicia that he was going to eat, and walk out the open rear door to the break room. Jared bit his lip and started pulling books off the shelf, reading the numbers super carefully, and putting them back, until he could finally escape. He hurried past Felicia without a word and slipped out the rear door.

He unlocked the break room and closed the door behind him. The lights were on and Jensen’s lunch bag was sitting on the table. Jared stepped to the restroom door and said, “Jensen, it’s me.”

Jensen opened the door. He already had his belt unbuckled and his trousers undone, and he was holding his thick length in one hand, tip already slick with precome. Jared shoved the door closed and locked it. Jensen smirked. “Like what you see?”

Jared licked his lips. “Can I—you want me to—”

Jensen nodded so hard his glasses slipped down his nose. “Do it. We don’t have much time.”

Jared sank to his knees. Jensen took a step forward, bracing his hands on the door. Jared took Jensen’s considerable length into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the hot, slick tip, drawing a low moan from Jensen. He ran the tip of his tongue around the underside of the head, and Jensen hissed and pitched forward a little, as if Jared had made his knees go weak. Jared reached up and pressed his hands to Jensen’s hips to steady him.

Jensen inched forward and then pulled back, and Jared squeezed his hips to encourage him. Jensen thrust his cock deeper into Jared’s mouth, and Jared cupped Jensen’s ass and pulled him in even further, until the tip of Jensen’s cock nudged the back of Jared’s throat. Jensen started to fuck Jared’s mouth in earnest, and Jared kept one hand on Jensen’s ass and freed his own cock with the other.

Jensen thrust harder and faster and Jared knew he was getting close. A minute later, he came with a broken-off shout and spilled his seed into Jared’s mouth. Jared swallowed it down easily and sat back, letting Jensen ease his softening cock out of Jared’s mouth. 

Jensen sagged against the wall next to Jared and reached for Jared’s cock. Jensen jacked him with sure, smooth strokes, rubbing a thumb over the leaking head and spreading slick warmth across Jared’s sensitized skin. Jared pressed his forehead to Jensen’s as Jensen brought Jared closer to his own release. When Jared started to feel his orgasm building, he whispered to Jensen, “I’m getting close,” and Jensen reached up and grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser above his head. He brought Jared to the brink and then shoved the wad of paper into his hand. Jared came with a low moan into the paper and Jensen covered Jared’s lips with his own to silence him. Jensen’s kiss was gentle, tentative, nothing like the confident stroking he’d just been doing. It was as though he was asking permission now, all of a sudden, and it made Jared smile. Jensen’s lips turned up in a smile as well, and Jensen broke the kiss with a soft _pop_. “What’s so funny?” he murmured.

“Nothing,” replied Jared. “You just—aren’t what I was expecting.”

Jensen frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”

Jared shook his head. “No, no. Not at all. Just—never mind.” He kissed Jensen, slow and gentle. “I need to get back.”

Jensen helped him up. “I hope you don’t feel like I’m taking advantage,” he said, eyes cast down to the floor.

Jared kissed his forehead. “Not at all. I’m here of my own free will.” He kissed Jensen’s nose, his jaw, the exposed hollow of his throat. “Call me. We’ll do it right next time.”

Jensen smiled. “I’d like that.”

“So would I.” Jared smirked at him. “I’d love to see what’s under those sweater vests of yours.”

Jensen’s cheeks turned pink. “You think I’m a nerd.”

“Well, yeah.” Jared kissed him again. “But nerds are sexy.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“I don’t think so,” said Jared with a grin. “I know so.”


	2. Counting the Minutes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen gives Jared a special present at his last staff meeting.

“And Kim will send an email when online registration for Winter Reading Club begins.” The projector screen went blue as Jensen clicked past the last slide. He stood up. “So, now that we’ve gotten the business out of the way, it’s time to have some fun.” He pushed his chair back and retrieved a big paper bag and a giant wrapped present from under the table. 

“Presents? Nobody told me we were getting presents,” said Osric.

“That’s because none of us were here this time last year,” replied Briana. “But I’m on board.”

Jensen handed an envelope to each of the staff members. When Jared took his from Jensen’s hand, Jensen winked at him. Jared felt his cheeks grow hot and looked down at the table.

Jensen then handed small wrapped boxes, all the same size, to each of the public service assistants. Then he set the giant box in front of Katie, the youth services assistant. Katie grinned. Jensen took a step back from the table. “Go ahead and open them.”

Katie tore into the wrapping paper to reveal a Keurig machine. “All right!”

“Awesome!” crowed Osric. He unwrapped his gift, which was a box of chai K-cups. The rest of the PSAs unwrapped theirs to reveal different brands of coffee, tea, and hot cocoa K-cups. 

“Y’all can trade as you see fit,” announced Jensen. “And Jared, since you won’t be here to enjoy it, there’s something special in your card.”

“Where’s Jared going?” asked Kathryn, the other YSA. 

“Jared got a full-time job as Samantha’s Public Service Training Assistant,” answered Jensen with a smile. “He’ll be leaving us, but y’all will see him again a few times each year at Staff Enrichment Day and trainings.”

“Yeah, y’all can’t get rid of me that easy,” said Jared, and there was soft laughter. Then the staff members went back to chatting amongst themselves about the Keurig. 

Jared slid his finger underneath the envelope flap and tore it open. The card was bigger than the other staff members’, and had a picture of a golden retriever puppy with a glittery Santa hat and red bow around its neck. Jared grinned and opened it up. A gift card fell out, and Jared picked it up to examine it. It was a $25 dollar gift card to Longhorn Steakhouse, and since the individual allowance for PSA gifts was $15, Jared figured Jensen must have contributed some of his own allowance to it. Then he read the card.

_Jared—_

_We’re all going to miss you, but it’s going to take me a long damn time to get used to coming in and not seeing your smiling face (and those dimples!) in the mornings. Luckily, I’ll get to see you more outside of work now, so please, come to my house for Christmas…and spend the night?_

_Yours always,  
Jensen._

Jared cleared his throat and looked up at Jensen, who was sitting down at the head of the table. He caught Jensen’s eye and nodded. Jensen’s face lit up and he gave Jared that thousand-watt smile that Jared could barely resist. Jared smiled back, although it was a little wobbly. 

Jensen stood up. “Okay, those of us who actually have to work today had better go get ready to open! The rest of you, enjoy the cookies and the rest of your day and I’ll see you next week.”

“Hey, you wanna help me set this up?” Osric said, pointing at the Keurig.

Jared’s shift didn’t start till 3:00, so he was only heading home. He stood up and pocketed the card, then picked up the large box and carried it to the kitchen. 

He and Osric took it out of the box, rinsed out the reservoir and filled it with water, and plugged in the unit. Various PSAs came in and out, and each set a box of K-cups on the counter. Jared picked up the box of chai pods and pulled one out. “It needs some time to heat up,” he said, glancing at the display, which had a light next to Power and also Heating. “But then we can try it.”

Jared grabbed his Scrabble mug from the dish drainer and positioned it under the spout. Once the heating light went off, Jared positioned the pod and pressed the “small mug” button. In less than 2 minutes, he had a wonderful-smelling mug of surprisingly hot chai. He took a sip. “Wow, that’s great.”

He removed the used pod and threw it out. Osric took an English Breakfast tea pod and put that in the machine. He set an old Summer Reading Club mug under the spout and made himself a cup of tea. Again, it took less than two minutes. Osric grabbed the sugar out of the cupboard and poured a ton of it into the mug, more than even Jared would use. “Having any tea with that sugar?” teased Jared.

Osric chuckled. “I’m like a hummingbird—small and powered by sugar water.”

That made Jared laugh. The door opened, and Jensen came in. Osric put his spoon in the drainer and left the room. “I love that sound,” said Jensen softly, putting a hand on the small of Jared’s back. “You have the best laugh.”

“Thanks,” replied Jared, grinning. Jensen unlocked his locker and retrieved his gourmet Italian coffee. Jared inboxed the refillable K-cup and rinsed it out. Jensen smiled his thanks and filled it with his own grounds. 

“How’s it working?” asked Jensen.

“Like a dream.” Jared pressed his chest against Jensen’s back and rested his chin on Jensen’s shoulder as Jensen waited for his coffee to brew.

“I really am going to miss you,” murmured Jensen. 

“I’m gonna miss you, too,” said Jared. “Seeing you was always the highlight of my day.”

“But we can see so much more of each other now,” said Jensen, stepping back from the counter to clean the grounds out of the pod. “I can’t wait to see you in my bed.”

“I can’t wait to get in your bed,” whispered Jared. 

“You doing anything after your shift tonight?”

Jared shook his head. “Not yet, why?”

“Have dinner with me.” Jensen sipped his coffee and Jared couldn’t take his eyes off those plump, perfect lips. 

“Of course,” murmured Jared, swallowing hard. 

“I’ll see you later, then.” Jensen kissed Jared, tasting of expensive coffee and the chocolate they’d eaten before the meeting.

“Can’t wait.” Jared placed a hand on Jensen’s hip and pulled him in for another kiss.

Jensen looked at the clock and grimaced. “I have to go.”

“I know.” Jared squeezed Jensen’s hip and lightly nudged him toward the door. “I’ll be back later.”

“I’ll be counting the minutes.” Jensen kissed Jared, just a small peck, and disappeared out the door.

Jared did some math in his head. His shift started at three, so he had 304 minutes to wait before he could see Jensen again. Then he would work with Jensen for 315 minutes, and then they’d have the last 225 minutes of the day to themselves.

540 minutes with Jensen. He could live with that.


	3. Unwrapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared goes to Jensen's house for Christmas dinner. He has a *very* good time.

Jared took a deep breath as he stepped up to Jensen’s front door. He smoothed a hand down his horrific Christmas sweater, the third-prize-winning entry in the library’s ugly sweater contest. It had green sleeves and one half was red with appliquéd trees and a gingerbread man, and the other side was blue with an appliquéd gingerbread house and reindeer. Jensen had been wrapped up in interviews and meetings the day of the contest and hadn’t seen it. He loosened his grip around the present he’d gotten Jensen at the last minute—an elegant fountain pen set and a leather day planner. He’d been hesitant to get anything more personal, since they hadn’t been seeing each other for that long and he didn’t feel like he knew the real Jensen all that well. He had the feeling that Jensen’s sweater vests and literary novels were a Clark Kent thing, and that the real Jensen was far more relaxed and informal. At least, he hoped so.

Jared rang the doorbell. Butterflies the size of doves fluttered in his stomach as he waited for Jensen to open the door.

The door swung open. “Jared! Please, come in.” Jensen smiled as bright as the tasteful white lights lining his porch railing. He was wearing a navy blue sweater that looked so soft that Jared had to stop himself from reaching out to touch it, with perfectly-fitting jeans and fleece-lined moccasins, and he still looked like a damn GQ model even in a red bib apron splattered with grease stains. 

Jared entered Jensen’s townhouse and kicked his shoes off before closing the door behind him. Jensen reached past him to lock it and gently removed the wrapped present from Jared’s hands. “I’ll just put this under the—what the hell?” Jensen frowned at Jared’s sweater. “Please tell me that’s what you wore for the ugly sweater contest.”

Jared grinned. “Third place winner, right here.” 

“That is—quite something.” Jensen set the present under the tree, where it joined a few holiday bags and a couple wrapped items. Jared wondered if any of them were for him. They hadn’t really discussed presents, but Jared didn’t feel right coming empty-handed. “Personally, I would have placed it higher than third.”

“Well, Ruth from the Northeastern branch won fair and square,” replied Jared. “Hers was truly hideous. But I thought I should have been second and Lauren Cohan from uptown should have been third. Mine was worse than hers.”

“I’ll have to check my email later,” said Jensen. “I was too busy on Friday, and I’ve made a concerted effort not to open it while I’m on vacation.”

“Three days off is your idea of a vacation?” Jared raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I took off all next week,” answered Jensen. “I had to use my vacation time before the 31st, or I would lose it.”

“You work too hard.” 

Jensen gestured to the living room couch. “Please, sit. Would you like some coffee? Or tea? We’re having wine with dinner, which should be ready in about half an hour.”

Jared looked past him to the dining room table, which was separated from the kitchen by a breakfast bar that was lined with pine boughs and ribbons. “I’ll just have some water, then.”

“Coming right up.” Jared followed Jensen into the dining area and sat down in the closest seat, which was set with a Christmas placemat, napkin, and coaster. There was a cut glass salad bowl on the table already, filled with dark greens and strawberries, and the salad plates were holiday themed, with gold trim and a holly border. 

Jensen set a glass tumbler of ice water in front of Jared, right on the coaster. “You can go sit where it’s more comfortable, you know.”

“I want to be with you,” Jared replied.

“I’m just cooking,” said Jensen, looking puzzled. “I’m not doing anything exciting.”

“Can I help?”

Jensen’s face brightens. “Actually, if you would come stir the risotto for me, that’d be great.”

Jared joined Jensen at the counter. Jensen added rice to a pot of sautéed shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta, stirred it just a bit, and then added wine and chicken stock before handing the spatula to Jared. “Just stir that, while I add the stock.”

Jared nodded. He stirred the rice until Jensen told him he could stop. “Let it simmer till it starts to look dry, and then I’ll add more stock.”

Jared stirred and kept watch over the risotto while Jensen ran around doing other things, like opening the wine, a red wine with a French name that Jared had never heard of, and stirring a pan of Brussels sprouts. A timer went off after about fifteen minutes and Jensen pulled a delicious-looking prime rib roast out of the oven.

“Oh my God, that smells amazing,” moaned Jared.

“It’s just thyme au jus,” replied Jensen. “Nothing special.”

Jared snorts. “I don’t even own thyme. I also can’t cook anything that doesn’t come in a bag, box, or can. So I’m incredibly impressed by all this.”

Jensen chuckles. “I’ll have to invite you over for lasagna sometime. I make it from scratch, noodles and all.”

“You have to understand, I’m like a stray dog. You feed me once, I’m yours forever,” replied Jared.

Jensen laughed at that, tipping his head back to reveal the golden skin of his throat. “I can live with that. There’s also sweet potato pie for later.”

“That’s it, I’m never leaving.”

Jensen smiled softly, looking oddly serious for the lighthearted moment. But he quickly straightened up and dashed back into the kitchen to add more stock to the risotto, and the spell was broken. 

It took about fifteen more minutes for Jensen to declare the risotto finished. Jared helped him stir in the Parmesan cheese (a wedge of authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano that Jensen grated by hand into the pot) and dish out servings onto both of the holiday plates. Jensen carved the roast and placed three nice-sized slices on Jared’s plate with a wink. Jared grabbed the pan of Brussels sprouts, which Jensen said were glazed with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and sautéed with shallots and the remaining pancetta, and spooned those onto both plates, and Jared carried the full plates to the table while Jensen poured the wine into crystal goblets and brought those to the table.

Before sitting down, Jensen placed two gold candlesticks on the table and lit the white candles, and when he went to put the lighter away, he turned on soft jazz Christmas music. “Jensen, this is—this is so amazing. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

Jensen sat down and shook his head. “Not just for you. I haven’t had a reason to celebrate Christmas in quite some time.”

“What do you mean?”

Jensen sighed. “My extended family is full of Jehovah’s Witnesses, so Christmas wasn’t really a big thing in my house. And then when I moved up here, I moved away from my immediate family, so it seemed stupid to celebrate all by myself. I only celebrated when I had a partner, and it’s been three years since I dated anyone.”

“I’m sorry,” said Jared, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. “That must have been awfully lonely.”

“It was.” Jensen’s face brightened. “But now I have you, and I have a reason to celebrate again.”

Jared beamed. “And you certainly went all out. Thank you so much for this.”

Jensen picked up his wineglass. “To a _very_ Merry Christmas, and an even better New Year.”

“Cheers,” replied Jared, clinking his glass against Jensen’s. He tasted the wine, which was bolder than the red wines he was used to. “What kind of wine is this?”

“It’s called Gigondas,” answered Jensen. “It’s supposed to be good paired with prime rib or lamb.”

Jared cut a piece of prime rib and tasted it. It was unbelievably tender and juicy, and it tasted better than any restaurant cut ever had. “This is incredible, Jensen. I mean it. I don’t think a professional chef could have done any better.”

“I used to live with a professional chef,” said Jensen. “I picked up things here and there.”

“I’ll say.” Jared tasted the risotto. It was creamy and tender and perfectly seasoned. “I’ve never even had a restaurant meal that compared with this. God, this just—I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.”

Jensen beamed. “Just enjoy it. You deserve it, Jared. I’m so proud of you for getting a full-time position. I know it must have been hard for you, trying to live on a PSA salary.”

“I had help,” said Jared. “My parents send me money every month. I got enough scholarships that I didn’t have to pay for college, so my parents give me the money in my college fund that I didn’t use. But I have to admit, it’ll be nice to be able to pay rent without their help.”

“Where do you live?” asked Jensen.

“In Middletown,” replied Jared. “In a cheap apartment where most of my neighbors are Section 8.”

Jensen’s eyes narrowed. “Is it safe?”

“I’m 6’5” and I can bench-press 350,” said Jared. “So yes, it’s safe for me. No one’s ever broken into my car or anything, and there’s a bus stop right nearby, just in case I’d ever need it, so I’m okay with it.”

Jensen shook his head. “I had no idea.”

Jared reached out and placed his hand over Jensen’s. “I have what I need. I’m not, like, suffering or anything. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I just—” Jensen looked down at his plate. “I feel guilty, like I’m flaunting my relative wealth.”

“Jensen.” Jared’s commanding tone forced Jensen to meet his eyes. “ _I_ don’t feel that way. I don’t care that you and I are in different tax brackets. I know how hard you work, now and when you were in grad school, and I don’t begrudge you any of this. I’m just happy you’re letting me share it.”

Jensen nodded, but didn’t look totally convinced. He took a long sip of his wine. 

They ate in silence for a while, just listening to the jazz saxophone music and the sounds of silverware scraping china. Jared finished his wine and Jensen immediately jumped out of his chair. “More?”

Jared handed his glass over. “Sure, but you don’t have to rush.”

Jensen collected his own glass and took both to the kitchen to fill. While he was gone, Jared looked at the array of greeting cards spread out over the breakfast bar. He recognized one as being from the Library Board of Trustees. They had given each of the PSAs fifteen dollars as well, and Jared wondered if Jensen had gotten more. He knew better than to ask, but he was curious.

Jensen returned with the wine and Jared took a sip. “This is really great wine. It’s actually from France?”

“The Rhône Valley,” answered Jensen. “That’s in southern France. It produces a number of different red wines that you don’t see a lot of on the East Coast. They’re more popular in California.”

“So you’re a coffee snob and a wine snob,” replied Jared, grinning so that Jensen would know he was joking.

Jensen’s cheeks turned bright red. Jared gently nudged Jensen’s leg with his foot under the table. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Jensen shook his head. “Sometimes I feel like you and I are from different planets.”

“They say opposites attract,” said Jared with an encouraging smile. “And I’m incredibly attracted to you.”

Jensen looked up and smiled back. “And I to you. Although that sweater might be a dealbreaker.”

Jared chuckled. “I could take it off…”

“Would you?”

Jared stood up and removed the offending sweater, only to reveal a Snoopy Christmas t-shirt underneath. Jensen laughed out loud. “I’m not sure that’s better.”

“You don’t like Snoopy? Or Charlie Brown?” Jared pretended to be wounded.

Jensen looked sheepish. “I’ve never actually seen _A Charlie Brown Christmas_.”

Jared’s eyes widen. “Never? You’re kidding me.”

“When I was a kid, my parents would only let us watch black-and-white Christmas movies,” explained Jensen. “Nothing animated, nothing made after 1960. They didn’t really believe in pop culture.”

“Well, that explains a lot,” said Jared. “You must’ve had a TV, though, but I’m guessing you didn’t have cable.”

Jensen nodded. “We only had antenna stations and a VCR. We watched a lot of PBS.”

Jared sat up straighter in his chair. “How about this: you teach me how to appreciate wine and jazz and all the grown-up stuff you like, and I’ll give you the childhood you never had.”

Jensen laughed. “So you’ll agree to go to symphony performances if I watch cartoons with you?”

“Yeah!” Jared grinned. “I’ll introduce you to the world of superhero comics and eighties cartoons, and you’ll introduce me to classical music and fine literature.”

A smile slowly spread across Jensen’s face. “I kind of love that idea.”

“Then it’s a deal.” Jared extended a hand, and Jensen shook it. Jared pulled him forward to give him a kiss.

“Do you want pie now or later?” asked Jensen when they pulled apart.

“How about later?” replied Jared. “I’d like to unwrap some presents now.” He smirked lasciviously at Jensen.

Jensen stood up. “I’ve got to do the dishes first.”

Jared caught his wrist as he walked past. “Dishes can wait longer than I can.” He raised an eyebrow.

One corner of Jensen’s mouth turned up in a wicked smile. “Good point. I’ve been wanting to unwrap you ever since I saw that abomination on your chest.”

“That was the idea,” Jared murmured in Jensen’s ear.

“Bedroom’s upstairs,” Jensen gasped as Jared slid a hand around Jensen’s waist and drew him close.

Jared stood up and pressed his lips to the side of Jensen’s neck. “Lead the way.” 

Jensen grasped Jared’s hand and pulled him towards the stairs, which led to a loft on the second floor. Jensen’s bed was in an alcove that barely seemed to count as a bedroom. There were both blinds and curtains covering the windows, but Jared still felt a little exposed. Jensen tugged Jared’s t-shirt over his head and tossed it aside. He slid appreciative hands down Jared’s chest to his abs. “What, do you work out nonstop when you’re not at the library?”

“Just about,” Jared purred, grasping the hem of Jensen’s expensive-looking sweater and gently pulling it over his head. Jensen took it and laid it over the railing, and then slid off his jeans and boxer-briefs with the grace of a runway model. Jared went to take his own jeans off, but Jensen reached down and batted his hands away. “I want to unwrap my present now.”

Jared let Jensen unfasten his jeans and slide both hands past the waistband of his boxers to cup his ass. He closed the small distance between them, his thick, hard cock colliding with Jared’s in a way that makes his hair stand on end. Jensen pulled Jared’s boxers and jeans off his hips and, at the same time, lowered himself down to his knees. He took the tip of Jared’s cock between his lips and flicked his tongue over the slit, which made Jared’s knees shake just a tiny bit. Jensen shoved Jared’s pants the rest of the way to his ankles and helped Jared's step out of them as he took more of Jared’s cock into his mouth.

Jared ran his hand through Jensen’s hair, which was soft and loose, not gelled to within an inch of its life like it was at the office, and Jensen slid his hands up the backs of Jared’s legs to his ass. Jensen ran the tip of his tongue around the underside of Jared’s cockhead, eliciting a full-body shiver from Jared. Jensen flicked a bead of precome off of the slit and teased the tip with that talented tongue of his until Jared’s knees went weak. “Jensen, bed, _now_ ,” he gasped.

Jensen slid his hands up to Jared’s hips and guided him to the bed. He then pushed Jared down and, without missing a beat, lifted Jared’s thighs and positioned him in the center of the bed. Then he climbed onto the bed and lay down across Jared’s chest to open a drawer of the bedside table. He removed a bottle of lube and a condom and placed them both on the surface of the table. “I’m gonna ride you so fucking hard,” whispered Jensen, and Jared’s vision went red with desire. 

Jensen unwrapped the condom and gently rolled it down over Jared’s cock. Jared reached over and grabbed the bottle of lube. “Let me?”

“Anything you want,” murmured Jensen. “You look so fucking good in my bed. Never gonna let you leave.”

Jared grinned. He uncapped the lube and spread a generous amount over his fingers. He slipped one into Jensen’s waiting hole and waited for Jensen to relax. Jensen slid a hand up Jared’s stomach to his chest and then took a nipple between his long, slender fingers. As Jared slicked Jensen’s entrance, Jensen teased Jared’s nipple between his fingertips. Jensen then took the other nipple between his teeth and brought it instantly to hardness. Jared added a second finger, and Jensen bit down on Jared’s sensitive bud when he did. Jared jerked his hips upwards and Jensen pressed down on Jared’s stomach, pinning him to the mattress. 

Jared added a third finger, prepping Jensen with the utmost care, but Jensen was impatient, rocking back and forth and urging Jared to go deeper, harder, faster. “I’m ready,” moaned Jensen. “Lemme go.”

Jared removed his slick, hot fingers and let Jensen ease himself down onto Jared’s rock-hard cock. Jensen captured Jared’s lips with his own and kissed him hard enough to bruise as he took in more of Jared’s length. Jared sucked Jensen’s tongue into his mouth and entangled it with his own. Jensen broke the kiss after a few seconds. “Fuck me already,” he gasped.

Jared made an experimental thrust and Jensen reared back, closing his eyes in pleasure. Jared started to fuck his luscious ass in earnest, and Jensen rocked forward and pressed his forehead to Jared’s. His cheeks were so pink that Jared could barely see his adorable freckles.

Jensen rode him like a fucking pro, and he was so hot and tight that Jared could barely contain himself. Jensen tangled his fingers in Jared’s hair, covered his mouth with those fucking obscene lips, and Jensen tongue-fucked his mouth while Jared plundered his ass. Jensen was awfully quiet, controlled even in his passion, which made Jared wonder just what he would have to do to make Jensen lose control entirely. He could’t wait to find out.

Jensen broke contact and leaned back. “I’m so fucking close,” he hissed. Jared wrapped a hand around the back of Jensen’s neck and crushed their lips together while thrusting even harder into Jensen’s ass. Jensen went rigid, and Jared felt the hot rush of spunk across his abs when Jensen lost control. Jared came shortly after that, and he let Jensen ease himself off Jared’s now-softening cock without argument. 

Jensen collapsed beside him, panting and glistening with sweat. Jared kissed Jensen’s forehead, then his nose, then his lips. Jensen’s jade-green eyes were nearly black with lust and desire, and Jared kissed each of Jensen’s eyelids in turn. He brushed sweat-dampened locks of hair away from Jensen’s brows as Jensen pressed heated kisses to his jaw and neck. Jared stroked Jensen’s back, his hips, his ass, as Jensen removes\d the condom and threw it in the trash can on the far side of the bed. “You look so fucking good right now,” murmured Jensen, tucking a lock of Jared’s own sweat-soaked hair behind his ear.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” replied Jared. “Never knew you had that in you.”

“I’m a librarian, not a monk,” retorted Jensen. 

“Did you know there’s a book on our shelves called _The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica_?”

“ _That’s_ your dirty talk?” said Jensen, pushing himself up on one elbow. “Shelf reading revelations? God, even I’m not that nerdy.”

“You’re nerdy enough to suit me,” replied Jared. “You’re Clark Kent in the streets and Superman in the sheets.”

Jensen laughed at that, throwing his head back and revealing that beautiful expanse of golden skin, so Jared kissed every inch of it. Jensen responded by tweaking both of Jared’s nipples. Jared continued down Jensen’s breastbone to his abs, but Jensen put up a hand to stop him.

“I’m not twenty-one anymore,” groaned Jensen. “I need some recovery time.”

“Hey, I’m not twenty-one either,” replied Jared. “I’m only six years younger than you, you know.”

Jensen’s eyes widened. “Really? I thought you were, like, twenty-eight.”

Jared shook his head. “I’m thirty-four, so if you’re over the hill, I’m halfway up it.”

“Never would’ve guessed.” Jensen kissed him, first on the lips and then on both sides of his jaw. “You read the same books as the high schoolers.”

“I’m young at heart.” Jared poked Jensen’s belly. “Old man.”

“Respect your elders, boy.” Jensen smacked Jared’s ass just hard enough to sting. 

“You’re not the boss of me.” Jared lightly shoved Jensen onto his back.

“Nope, not anymore.” Jensen slipped a hand behind Jared’s shoulders and pulled him down onto his chest. “Now I’m just your boyfriend.”

Jared grinned. “That’s so much better.”


	4. Jared's Last Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared gets a surprise from Jensen on his last day at the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt, "'I love you' said on a post-it note." The names are made up, but the patrons are real. And they're actually *less* annoying here.

“So, Padalecki, how’s your last day at Kline going?”

Jared looks up from the Danielle Steel novel he’s putting a new sticker on. Briana’s pulling DVDs from the drawer behind him.

“Not too bad,” replies Jared, fighting back a smile. Jensen totally blew him in the bathroom during Jared’s lunch break, so his last day has actually been pretty great, but of course, he can’t tell her that. “I’ll miss you guys.”

Just then their number-one problem patron, Larry, comes flying toward the desk from computer 1 and there’s a loud thump when he clips the corner of the indoor book drop and bounces off in a way that would be kind of hilarious if it weren’t such a liability issue.

“Are you okay?” asks Jared, standing up and peering at Larry.

Larry wrings his hands. “I’m fine, I’m fine, it didn’t—I’m not—I’m fine,” he babbles.

“Are you sure?” asks Briana, joining Jared at the desk with a DVD sleeve still in one hand. “Does anything hurt? Do you need to sit down for a little bit?”

Larry shakes his head so hard his Trump hat slides back and forth. “I’m not hurt, not that you—I mean—I know you’re not really concerned about _me_ , it’s just a liability thing. You don’t really care about me as a person, just as a potential lawsuit.”

Jared bites his lip. He’s not wrong, but Jared’s not allowed to say that. He seems to have some level of awareness that the whole staff hates him and only tolerates him because they’re literally being paid to, but that doesn’t make him change his behavior in any way. 

“I need more time!” shouts Larry. “I only had three minutes left! My time is ticking down, I need more time! Now!” He shoves two rumpled dollar bills across the desk. “Please, now? Do it now?”

Jared sighs and opens the PC Reservation program on his workstation. He extends Larry’s time by an hour and enters the cash transaction into the circulation software. Then he puts the cash in the ancient register.

Larry flails off to computer 1. “Thank you, Jared,” he calls from around the corner, louder than necessary in the otherwise silent library.

“Bet you won’t miss _that_ ,” snarks Briana in an undertone for Jared’s ears only.

Jared shakes his head. “Not at all. You can have him.”

“I’m not sure whether I’m jealous or pissed,” she replies. 

Jared huffs a voiceless laugh. “Probably both.”

Briana goes back to pulling DVDs for the annoying Chinese guy who doesn’t speak any English and constantly saves sexy pictures of actresses to a flash drive. Jared caught him looking at a gif of Kate Winslet topless from _Titanic_ once, but it seemed to be an accident rather than a deliberate violation of the rules, unfortunately. Jared sometimes wonders if the young teenage girls that hang around the library after school are really safe around him, but he can’t exactly police the guy’s thoughts. Especially the ones in Chinese. As long as he’s not whacking off in the library bathroom, it’s pretty much out of the PSAs’ hands. 

Jared finishes putting new stickers on the giant stack of books he started with and starts to check them in. When he’s halfway through, Jensen saunters behind the desk and winks at Jared as he walks into the workroom. Jared feels his cheeks heat up and keeps his head down so no one will notice. 

A few minutes later, Jared finishes checking in all the new adult fiction and nonfiction books and stacks them on a cart to shelve. Once they’re all in place on the new shelves, he wheels the cart back behind the desk. Jensen’s waiting by the seat he vacated with a stack of graphic novels in his hands. He grins at Jared and sets them down in front of him, which is when Jared notices that they all have ACK5683 slips on them, which means Jensen put them on hold for himself. 

Jared flips through the stack. There’s _Saga_ volumes 1 and 2, _Rat Queens_ volume 1, _100 Bullets_ Book One, and two books Jared’s never seen before called _Jazz: Cool Birth_ and _Jazz: Midnight_. Of course Jensen would manage to find a graphic novel about jazz. Jared briefly contemplates introducing him to _Batman: Fortunate Son_ as he starts checking out the books. He’s running on autopilot, but when he turns over the last book to scan the barcode, he stops short. There’s a yellow post-it note on the back, which isn’t unusual—they have a dispenser sitting at every workstation, including the ones in Jensen’s and Rich’s offices—but that’s not what gets Jared’s attention.

No, what gets Jared’s attention is what’s written on the post-it note. There are only three words, written in elegant cursive with the fountain pen Jared gave him for Christmas: _**I love you**_.

Jared beams and slide the barcode under the scanner beam. Before handing the book back to Jensen, he pulls off the post-it note and slips it into his shirt pocket. He grabs a post-it note from the dispenser at his side and grabs the green pen that nobody else likes from the pencil cup. _I love you, too,_ he prints in his best handwriting, which still isn’t all that good. He removes the hold slip from the front of the book and replaces it with the post-it. He hands the whole stack back to Jensen with a huge smile he’s not about to try to hide.

Jensen looks down at the note. He smiles just as wide as Jared and plucks the note from the cover. He glances over his shoulder and, when he’s satisfied that Briana’s attention is on the patron she’s helping, he presses his lips to the note and holds it up like a silent toast, then slides it into his trouser pocket, still smiling. Without a word, he walks past Briana and through the swinging half-door, then disappears inside his office.

“Jared? Somebody help me? Please? I screwed up, I really screwed something up, will you—will you come over? Please?” Larry’s wringing his hands in front of the desk again.

Even that can’t kill Jared’s mood. “Be right there,” he says absently, and fingers the note in his pocket. He might not miss Larry at all, but God, he’s gonna miss seeing Jensen every day. But the next time he comes into Kline, he’ll be able to take Jensen into his arms and kiss him breathless in front of the whole staff if he wants to, and believe him, _he wants to_.


	5. The Sweetest Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen have their first "cultural exchange". For the prompt: "'I love you' said when baking chocolate chip cookies."

On Sunday morning, Jared heads over to Jensen’s house for a day of cultural exchange—namely, Jensen teaching Jared how to bake chocolate chip cookies and appreciate jazz. Jared puts on his old Elizabethtown College Basketball t-shirt and track pants and heads over to Jensen’s townhouse, which is located on the top of a massive hill that slows Jared’s ancient truck to a crawl by the time he gets to the top. It has a beautiful view from the top, though—you can actually see all the way to Hersheypark, and Jensen has mentioned that you can see the Hershey fireworks from the parking lot on the Fourth of July. 

Jensen opens the door with a huge smile. He’s wearing a green henley that does amazing things for his eyes, and worn-in jeans with no shoes or socks. “Come on in,” he says, and gives Jared a quick peck on the lips as he crosses the threshold.

Jared hangs his coat in the coat closet and Jensen hands him a blue bib apron. “Thanks,” says Jared, and ties it on. Jensen puts on his own red apron and switches on the stereo. A jazz saxophone version of the “Sanford and Son” theme song begins playing, and Jared chuckles. “Have you ever even seen this show?”

Jensen frowns. “What show? You mean a concert?”

Jared shakes his head. “This is the theme song to ‘Sanford and Son,’ an old TV show.”

“Huh.” Jensen picks up the CD case lying next to the stereo and stares at it for a minute. “I never knew that.” He sets the case back down again. “This is my old neighbor’s band. He was a music professor at LVC.”

“That’s cool,” says Jared. “Which one is he?”

“The sax player,” answers Jensen. “He also plays flute and clarinet on a couple songs.”

“Is that why you like jazz so much?”

Jensen nods. “Partially. I was friends with his son, and we spent a lot of time at his house listening to his record collection. It’s just what I grew up with. My parents were more into classical and opera, but they didn’t mind jazz as long as it wasn’t the avant-garde stuff.” He clicks a button on the CD player. “Then there’s this—the best of both worlds.” 

It’s a classical song Jared recognizes, but he doesn’t know what it’s called. “I know this song,” he says hesitantly. “I just don’t…”

Jensen grins. “It’s the William Tell Overture. It was popular in old cartoons.”

“Yeah, it does sound like something from Looney Tunes.” Jared gestures toward the kitchen. “We gonna talk, or are we gonna make cookies? ‘Cause I was promised chocolate to lure me here.”

Jensen laughs. “Come on, then, bottomless pit. We’ll get started.”

The ingredient containers are neatly lined up on one counter along with measuring cups and bowls and various kitchen tools. On the other counter are cookie sheets and a red stand mixer. Jensen turns on his iPad, which is perched in a clear stand, and brings up what Jared assumes must be the recipe. 

“Okay, so how about you measure the dry ingredients.” He zooms in on the recipe text and points to the first lines of the ingredient list. “That’s the flour, salt, and baking soda. Measure them and put them in this bowl.” He hands Jared a green mixing bowl. “Then you can measure out the chocolate chips and coconut and put them in this bowl.” He hands Jared a different bowl, this one blue. “I’ll handle the mixer. When I tell you, you’ll bring the flour mixture over to the mixer and slowly pour it in while I run the beaters. After that, you can put in the chips and coconut. Sound good?”

Jared nods. “I think I can do that.”

“Good. All the measuring cups and spoons are over there.” He points to the collection of kitchen tools. “You want to level off the spoon or cup before you dump it in the bowl.”

Jared nods. “Yeah, I did take home ec, you know.”

“Just checking.” Jensen smiles to take some of the sting out of it. “I have a bad habit of thinking people can read my mind, so I try to explain things as thoroughly as I can.”

“Not a problem.” Jared smiles back. “Let’s do this thing.”

They work together, with Jensen handling the stand mixer and Jared folding in ingredients when instructed. Once he’s done with the mixer, he takes off the beater and lets Jared lick it clean, and Jared moans out loud at how good it is. “Man, these are gonna be great!”

Jensen smiles, his cheeks pinking up just a bit. “Yeah, it’s the best recipe I’ve ever come across. Better than my mom’s, even.”

Jensen detaches the mixing bowl and starts spooning batter on cookie sheets. When he fills one, he pops it in the oven and sets the timer for 12 minutes. “This oven runs a little hot,” he says, “so I usually set it for the minimum time and check it. They’re almost always done then.”

Jensen lets Jared prepare the second cookie sheet, giving him pointers on how far apart to space the spoonfuls of dough. Then he helps Jensen set up the cooling racks on the breakfast bar. About five minutes in, the kitchen starts to smell like melting chocolate and caramelizing sugar, and Jared sighs with pleasure. “Oh my God, that smells amazing.”

Jensen grins, clearly pleased. “Wait till you taste them.”

The timer rings a few minutes later, and Jensen removes the thick, golden brown cookies from the oven and slides them onto a cooling rack. He lets Jared put the next batch into the oven and reset the timer, while they wait for the cookie sheet to cool enough to add another batch to it.

Once the third batch is in the oven, Jensen determines that the first batch is cool enough to eat. He breaks one in half and hands one half to Jared. 

Jared takes a bite. The chocolate is still half-melted, and the cookie is soft and wonderfully moist and it’s definitely the best thing Jared’s ever had in his mouth. “God, I love you,” he says with a happy sigh. Then his eyes widen when he realizes what he just said. 

But Jensen is beaming, his green eyes sparkling with mirth, and he swallows the cookie and immediately seals his mouth over Jared’s. One hand slides down Jared’s back to cup his ass. “I love you too,” he murmurs when he finally lets Jared come up for air.

Jared’s smile doesn’t leave his face for nearly an hour.


	6. Misusing the Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared introduces Jensen to Star Wars. Jensen introduces Jared to 69ing.

Jared rings the doorbell at Jensen’s house with a huge grin on his face. He can’t wait for Jensen to see his authentic Rogue Squadron flightsuit. He hasn’t worn it to a con since his college days, but this year with Jensen’s help he might actually be able to afford to go to Wizard World Philly. He’ll have to look up the dates later.

Jensen opens the door. “Hey, Ja—what the _hell_?”

Jared doesn’t stop grinning. “Let me in and I’ll explain.”

Jensen steps aside and Jared walks past him into the living room. He swings his BB-8 messenger bag off his shoulder and sets it on the nearest easy chair. “We’re having Star Wars day a few months early,” he tells Jensen, who’s still staring at him with wide, skeptical eyes. “Today we’re watching the original trilogy and _The Force Awakens_ , and then tomorrow we’re going to see _Rogue One_ on the IMAX screen at Whitaker Center.”

Jensen gestures at Jared’s chest. “And this is…a Star Wars costume?”

“Let me guess, you’ve never heard of cosplay either.” Jared pulls his DVDs out of his bag. “Yes, it’s a costume. You’ll see it in the first film.”

Jensen raises an eyebrow. “How long is this gonna take?”

Jared chuckles. “Make some popcorn, pour some wine, and we’ll watch the first movie. And then, if you’re good, I’ll blow you, and we can watch the next two. Then you can blow me, and we’ll watch the last one.”

Jensen finally smiles at that. “That doesn’t sound too bad, I guess.” He points to his TV stand. “The DVD player remote is next to the player. I’ll go dig up some popcorn and wine.”

Jared stops Jensen before he can leave for the kitchen and kisses him. “Thanks for being a good sport.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” grumbles Jensen, but there’s no real heat in it.

Jared lightly nudges him in the direction of the kitchen. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Jensen goes off to the kitchen and Jared gets the DVD set up. Then he goes out to see if he can help Jensen. The popcorn is popping away, and there’s an open bottle of chardonnay on the table next to two stemless wine glasses. “Oh, great, pour that, will you?”

“Sure.” Jared pours two generous glasses and carries them out to the living room. In a minute, Jensen joins him with a large bowl of popcorn and some napkins. 

Jared presses play on the remote and turns the volume up. He accepts his glass from Jensen and eats some popcorn.

They watch the movie in companionable silence. Once the popcorn bowl is empty, Jensen sets it aside, and slings one arm around Jared’s back and rests his head on Jared’s shoulder. Jared cuddles him close with a soft grin.

Around the point where Luke and Han attempt to rescue Leia, Jensen sits up and starts paying rapt attention to the movie. Jared grins and takes his hand, and Jensen squeezes it whenever things get tense. When Obi-Wan gets killed, Jensen actually gasps “No!” along with Luke. Jared rests their joined hands on Jensen’s knee and starts watching Jensen more than the film. Jensen’s literally on the edge of his seat for the climactic space battle, and he shouts, “Yeah!” when Luke makes the critical shot to blow up the Death Star. He sits back and relaxes a bit after that. 

When the movie’s over, Jensen turns to Jared with a huge smile on his face. “That was awesome!” He looks down at Jared’s costume. “Nice flightsuit, Wedge.”

Jared grins. “So, do you want to watch the next movie right now, or do you wanna fool around first?”

Jensen bites his lip and looks honestly conflicted. Jared adds, “But just so you know, the next movie ends on a cliffhanger that’ll make you want to go right to _Return of the Jedi_.”

Jensen’s forehead creases as he thinks it over. “Next two movies, and then I’ll reward you properly for your heroics,” he replies with a smirk.

Jared chuckles. “Sounds like a plan.”

Jared puts in _Empire_ while Jensen refills their wine glasses and washes out the popcorn bowl. He comes back with an unopened bag of holiday chocolate-covered pretzels and rips it open. He sets it down between them and Jared starts the movie.

Both food and drink are forgotten by the time Han and Leia get to the asteroid field. Jared keeps one arm around Jensen’s shoulders as Jensen gets more and more tense the worse things get for Han and Leia. Jensen flinches when Han gets frozen, and Jared cuddles him close, stroking his hair sympathetically. Jensen watches the Luke/Vader fight with wide eyes, and when the film ends, Jared kisses him before going to the player and switching discs. 

Jensen’s not as interested in _Jedi_ once the Ewoks show up, which alone convinces Jared that Jensen has excellent taste. But he still watches the final battle sequence hunched forward and clutching Jared’s hand. Finally, when the movie ends, Jensen sinks back into Jared’s arms and kisses him with clear intent. 

“We’ll be more comfortable upstairs,” murmurs Jared between hungry, chocolate-flavored kisses.

Jensen pulls Jared up off the couch. “Lead the way, flyboy.”

Jared and Jensen hurry up the stairs to Jensen’s loft. Jensen sheds his gray henley, followed by his jeans and boxer-briefs, and then frowns at Jared. “How the hell does that come off?”

Jared pulls off the vest and the belt and unzips his jumpsuit, shrugging out of the sleeves and pushing it down to his waist. Jensen stills his hand and nudges it aside. “Let me.”

Jensen frees Jared’s cock, which is already half-hard, and pushes Jared down on his back on the bed. He climbs up on the bed next to him and takes Jared’s cock into his mouth, flicking the tip of his tongue over the slit and making Jared fully, almost painfully hard in an instant. 

“That’s not how this was supposed to work,” Jared points out a little breathlessly.

Jensen turns so his hips are next to Jared’s face. “Oh, _that’s_ how you wanna play it, huh?” Jared smirks. “Didn’t know you had that in you.”

Without releasing Jared’s cock from his mouth, Jensen throws a leg over Jared’s shoulder and straddles him. Jared takes Jensen’s thick, crimson cock between his lips and delicately sucks a bead of precome off the head. Jensen falters for a second, but recovers and runs the tip of his tongue around the underside of Jared’s cockhead, eliciting a moan from Jared. Jensen shivers from the vibration, and Jared takes more of Jensen’s length into his mouth. This isn’t something Jared’s done before, and it’s a little unnerving trying to split his attention between Jensen’s cock and his own. Jensen keeps teasing with his talented tongue and Jared keeps losing focus on what he’s doing to Jensen’s cock. 

Jared finally gets a rhythm going, just as Jensen starts fluttering his tongue over Jared’s slit and making sparks of pleasure shoot up his spine. Jared has no idea how he does that, but it drives him fucking crazy. When Jensen does it to the underside of the head, Jared loses it. Jensen eases him through his orgasm and then starts fucking Jared’s mouth hard enough that he comes only a few moments later. Jared swallows it all and releases Jensen’s cock with a succulent _pop_. 

Jensen moves so he’s lying across Jared’s stomach, gazing up at him with glazed eyes, pupils blown wide with desire. Jared runs a hand through Jensen’s sweat-dampened hair, so much softer without the gel he uses when he dresses for work. Jensen reaches out and tucks a lock of Jared’s own damp hair behind his ear and draws a fingertip lightly down Jared’s jaw, making him shiver. Jensen grins, pleased with the reaction he’s gotten. He traces the line of Jared’s throat down to his sternum, and stops when he reaches his own nose. Jared pokes the tip of Jensen’s nose in kind, and Jensen chuckles, low and throaty. Jensen then pushes himself up and kisses the tip of Jared’s nose before collapsing next to him.

“We have two more movies to get through,” murmurs Jared.

Jensen smiles. “We’ve got time.”


	7. Comme Tu Veux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen takes Jared on a surprise date.

Jared can’t wait to hear what Jensen’s surprise is. All he knows is that he’s supposed to wear nice clothes and they’re getting on a train, so he can bring snacks if he wants to. He doesn’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing when they get off the train, and Jared is thrilled. All Jensen would tell him is that they’re covering both of their areas of interest this weekend. 

Jared rings Jensen’s doorbell, although he’s starting to wonder if he should ask Jensen if he can just start letting himself in. They’ve been officially dating for two and a half months now, and while Jared’s not going to ask for a key or anything, he thinks he should get front-door-opening privileges. Jensen lives in the safest neighborhood in the entire township—it’s not even on GPS, and unless you live nearby, you wouldn’t even know it’s there—so there’s no reason he needs to keep his door locked all the time. Although it’s Jensen, so he probably does anyway.

Jensen opens the door. He’s wearing a gray argyle sweater vest (Jared’s favorite, actually) with a crisp white shirt and black trousers, and he looks every bit the stuffed-shirt librarian. But he grins when he sees Jared’s black Deathly Hallows sweater and gray trousers. “That’s perfect, actually,” he says with a chuckle. 

Jared’s eyes widen. “Really? It’s a Harry Potter thing?”

“Of sorts,” replies Jensen with a smug smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Jared hoists his BB-8 bag higher on his shoulder. He’s got his iPad full of comics and Rifftrax videos, which Jared said to bring, and Jensen said he’d watch one of Jared’s movies if Jared listened to some poetry. 

“You got everything? Water, snacks, entertainment? It’s not a super long train ride, just about three and a half hours.”

Jared nods. “I’m ready. Let’s do this mysterious thing.”

Jensen grins and grabs his leather briefcase. Jared rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “God, you are such a nerd.”

“You’re a nerd, too,” retorts Jensen.

“I’m a _geek_ ,” Jared corrects him. “There’s a difference.”

“Tell me on the way,” says Jensen, nudging Jared out the door.

Jensen locks up and unlocks his Mercedes. Jared didn’t think Branch Librarians got paid that well, but Jensen explained that his family was rich by central Pennsylvania standards, and he’d bought both the car and the townhouse in cash. He didn’t have any student loan debt either, which made Jared so unbelievably envious that his head actually hurt. 

Jared clambers into the front seat and swings his bag into the footwell. Jensen turns on the car and immediately the stereo comes on speaking a language that Jared can’t immediately identify. “What is _that_?”

Jensen blushes. “It’s _Harry Potter à l’École des Sorciers_ —i.e., Harry Potter in French.”

Jared stares at him. “Harry Potter in French. Because you couldn’t be caught dead reading an American children’s book?”

Jensen shrugs, apparently unoffended. “I wanted a challenge.”

“So you speak French? That’s real useful in an inner-city library.”

Jensen’s face falls. “Yeah, I mostly wish I’d taken Spanish or Mandarin in school.”

“Your school had Mandarin?”

“The college did.” Jensen backs out of the parking space and points them toward the train station. They’re going to Middletown instead of Harrisburg because the parking is free there. It’s one stop further east, but it’s only a few minutes’ difference.

They board the train and get a whole row to themselves. There aren’t many people on the train yet. Most people will get on at Harrisburg. 

Jared opens his bag and gets out his iPad. He opens Comixology and starts catching up on _Injustice: Gods Among Us Year 2_. Jensen gets out his own tablet and opens Kindle to something Jared can’t identify because once again, it’s in French. “Showoff,” mutters Jared.

Jensen puts his arm around Jared. “Does it really bother you?”

Jared shrugs. “A little. I’m an actual educator and I feel stupid next to you sometimes.”

Jensen kisses his temple. “I don’t mean to make you feel inadequate or insecure. I’m just a really huge nerd. Believe me, you’re superior to me in a number of ways, not least of which is your ability to socialize like a normal person. I mean, you can talk to _anyone_. I envy you that.”

Jared forces a small smile. “Is that my superpower?”

Jensen nods, grinning. “That and being really, ridiculously attractive.”

That makes Jared smile for real. “You’re not so bad yourself in that area.”

“I look like a nerd, and an effeminate one to boot. _You_ look like Conan the Librarian.”

Jared laughs at that. “Conan the Librarian. I really want to get that on my nametag now.”

“I dare you to put that in as a print request,” teases Jensen.

“You know I actually will, right?”

Jensen chuckles. “That’s what I love about you.” He kisses Jared’s cheek. “Well, that’s one thing out of about a thousand.”

Jared grins and tips Jensen’s face towards him so he can give him a proper kiss. “We should compare lists sometime.”

“My list is in French,” replies Jensen, but he quirks an eyebrow to show he’s joking.

“You should teach me French,” says Jared between kisses.

Jensen grins. “I would love that.”

“How do you say, ‘kiss me’ in French?”

“ _Embrasse-moi_ or _fais-moi un bisou_ ,” answers Jensen.

“Embrasse-moi,” repeats Jared as best he can.

“Ouai, comme tu veux,” says Jensen, capturing Jared’s lips for another kiss.

* * * 

They arrive in Johnstown about three hours later. Jensen calls them a cab, which takes them to Hoss’s Steak and Sea House. “This isn’t the surprise, right?”

Jensen laughs. “No, we’re eating first. Then we’ll head to the concert hall.”

After they eat, Jensen gets them another cab and they drive to a college campus. The cab lets them off at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, and Jensen leads Jared to the concert hall inside. 

He hands their tickets to a student usher and she hands them two programs, which is when Jared sees what the surprise is. They’re at the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra’s performance of The Music of John Williams. Jared smiles so wide he can feel the stretch in his cheeks. “Oh my God, this is awesome!”

Jensen grins and takes Jared’s hand as they walk to their seats. “I figured it was the best of both worlds.”

Once they’ve taken their seats, Jared draws Jensen close for a passionate kiss. “I love it, thank you. This is perfect.”

Jensen grins and takes Jared’s hand in his. “You’re very welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

Jared sighs happily. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

Jensen beams. “Je t’aime,” he whispers as the lights go down.

Even Jared knows what that means. “I love you too,” he whispers.


	8. There Goes My Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared introduces Jensen to sexual roleplay.

Thursday night, after Jensen _finally_ gets off from work, Jared calls him. “Hey, Jared,” Jensen says warmly when he answers the phone. “How was your day?”

“Pretty good,” replies Jared. “How about yours?”

Jensen sighs. “Larry was in quite the mood today. He was telling Kathryn about restaurant managers he’d like to kill.”

Jared’s jaw drops. “You’re not serious. What’d you do?”

“Told him we’d have to report him to the police if he kept making threats like that,” says Jensen. “He shut up quick. Hell, Felicia even shut him down this morning. I couldn’t believe it.”

“What’d she say?” Felicia’s notorious for not standing up to anyone, even people who are actively yelling at her. 

“He started to repeat himself, the way he always does, and she snapped, ‘I heard you the first time, Larry.’”

“Wow.” Jared sits down on the couch. “Did it work?”

“He seemed pretty stunned,” says Jensen. “He actually did shut up, and he wouldn’t go back to her the rest of the day.”

“Good for her,” replies Jared. “Tell her I said ‘way to go!’”

“I will.” He hears Jensen turn the phone to speaker and pour some liquid into a glass. “So, was there something you wanted?”

“Yeah,” says Jared hesitantly. “There’s something I wanted to, uh…get your opinion on.”

He hears Jensen take the phone off speaker. “If it’s something comic- or cartoon-related, I’ll do my best, but I make no promises.”

Jared shakes his head. “Not exactly. It’s just…I was wondering if you would be up for a little role-playing next time we get together.”

“ _Dungeons and Dragons_ role-playing or the fun kind of role-playing?”

Jared’s eyes widen. “You know about _Dungeons and Dragons_?”

“Only that my parents thought it was Satanic,” answers Jensen, and Jared can practically hear his eyes rolling. “I take it you were talking about the latter.”

Jared grins. “Sure was. I was thinking superhero and tied-up hostage.”

“Tied-up as in bondage?”

Jared swallows hard. “Light bondage. Just wrist cuffs, unless you’re up for more than that.”

“You got more than that?” Jensen sounds surprisingly intrigued and not hesitant at all.

“I’ve got ankle cuffs and a mattress kit,” replies Jared. “But that’s a little advanced.”

Jensen’s quiet for a long moment. “Yeah, just wrist cuffs to start. I can’t believe you can even bring geekdom into the bedroom.”

“I’m a man of many talents,” says Jared with a smirk. “And many costumes, as well.”

“You mean—you know what, I don’t even want to know,” says Jensen. “So, you wanna come over tomorrow night? I’ll throw some chili in the slow cooker and make some cornbread.”

Jared smiles. “That sounds awesome. Yeah, text me when you get home and I’ll come by.”

“Sure thing.” Jared hears Jensen’s jazz music turn on in the background. “Well, I’m gonna eat and have some more wine. Have a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow after work.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jared leans back and grins. “You won’t be sorry, I promise.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to punish you if it doesn’t go well,” Jensen says, his voice dropping into a terribly sexy low register.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” replies Jared.

Jensen responds in the same sexy voice. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

Jared swallows hard. He adjusts his jeans and says, “I guess you will.”

“Good night, Jared,” purrs Jensen.

“‘Night, Jensen,” says Jared in a slightly strained voice.

* * *

The next night, Jared’s knees shake slightly as he steps up to Jensen’s front door. He’s got on a Batman hoodie and black jeans, baggy enough to allow for his Batman boxer-briefs with attached cape, and the cowl his college friend Sandy knitted him is in his Batman backpack along with his wrist cuffs and fasteners. He’s also got something he bets Jensen will never wear, but he’s gonna give it a shot anyway. He’s a little embarrassed now that he’s actually contemplating explaining his fantasy life to a buttoned-up jazz-loving librarian stereotype. 

It could be worse. At least he doesn’t insist on playing a Batman porno in the background. He’s perfectly fine with a custom music playlist he keeps on his phone. He got that from the same person he got Jensen’s potential costume from—Sandy’s roommate Sara, who singlehandedly put on a midnight showing of _Rocky Horror_ every year that included students acting out the movie in front of the screen. Jared starred as Brad all four years, and kept the corset and black lace panties. He figures if they fit him in college, they should fit Jensen now. Jensen’s a lot narrower in the shoulders and hips than Jared ever has been. Sara was also a slash fanfic writer, and he’s embarrassed to admit that most of what he knows about gay sex he learned initially from her fanfic before he started experimenting on his own.

Jensen answers the door, still dressed in his library clothes, a crisp maroon button-down shirt and black pinstripe trousers. His eyes light up when he sees Jared, as if he wasn’t expecting him, which is kind of ridiculously charming. Jared grins and steps past him into the townhouse. “Hey, Jensen.”

Jensen closes the door behind him. “Hey yourself, Jared. You can throw your bag on the sofa till we head upstairs.”

Jared does as he’s told and follows Jensen to the dining room, where steaming bowls of chili and a basket of cornbread are sitting out, along with bowls of sour cream and grated cheese. Jared grabs Jensen’s belt loop and pulls him in for a kiss. “This looks great, thank you. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

Jensen beams. “No trouble at all.” He motions to the chair that Jared has started to think of as his own. “Sit. I bought some craft beer, since that seemed better for chili than wine.”

Jared raises an eyebrow. “Have you ever bought craft beer before?”

“I went to college and grad school, you know,” replies Jensen, but Jared thinks the annoyance is feigned. “Yes, I’ve bought craft beer before. Fuck, I’ve bought kegs of Yuengling before. I’m not that much of a snob.”

Jared takes a sip of the beer. It’s a local one from the brewery at the PA Ren Faire, an oatmeal stout that’s quite possibly the best beer Jared’s ever had. “Wow,” says Jared. “This is great.”

Jensen smiles, clearly pleased. “See? I’m not totally hopeless.”

“I never said you were,” retorts Jared.

“No, but you were thinking it.”

Jared takes a bite of his chili. It’s got plenty of heat and meat, the two things Jared likes most. He dips his cornbread in it, as does Jensen. “So, you haven’t totally lost the Texas, I see.”

“No more than you have,” says Jensen. He takes a sip of his own beer. “You’re right, this is pretty damn good. I just bought it ‘cause it’s local, but it’s better than I was expecting.”

“Yeah, it’s awesome.” Jared shovels more chili into his mouth. “I swear, someday I’m going to move in here just so you can cook for me every day. This is the only place I ever get real, home-cooked food.”

Jensen’s eyes twinkle in the light of the candlesticks he’s placed in the middle of the table. “You want to move in already?”

Jared almost chokes on his food. “N-no, I was just—it was a joke!”

Jensen puts his hand over Jared’s. “Relax. I know that.” He takes a sip of his beer. “But, down the road, it’s definitely something I want to talk about.”

Jared nods. “I live in a shithole. Believe me, when you wanna talk, I’ll listen.”

Jensen goes quiet then, and the two of them eat their dinner in relative silence except for the music in the background, which Jared suddenly realizes is the _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ soundtrack. “You bought new CDs?”

Jensen nods and smiles. “Yeah, after the concert. You don’t mind?”

“No, not at all!” Jared pats Jensen’s knee. “I’m glad you opened your horizons to something different.”

“Someday we’ll see the movie,” says Jensen, looking to Jared for reassurance.

“I’ll bring it next weekend,” says Jared. “We can marathon the first three. Then I’ll let you catch up in your livres des français.”

Jensen beams. “I started French lessons on Duolingo,” Jared explains.

Jensen gets up and kisses the top of Jared’s head. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

Jared smirks. “Hold that thought.” 

They finish eating and do the dishes together. Then, Jared retrieves his bag and they head upstairs.

Jared sets the bag down on Jensen’s desk chair and pulls out the cuffs, the ties, and the “surprise.” He feels his cheeks grow hot as he hands Jensen the corset and panties. “You don’t have to wear these, but man, I’d love it if you did.”

Jensen turns them over and considers it. Just when Jared thinks he’s going to say no, he grins. “What the hell, right?” He motions towards his bathroom. “I’ll go change, and then you can tie me up.” He rubs his chin. “There’s a sentence I never anticipated saying.”

Jared lets Jensen leave and then pulls off his hoodie and jeans. He fastens the cuffs to the headboard of Jensen’s bed and waits for Jensen to come back in. He hooks his phone up to Jensen’s Bluetooth speakers and starts his playlist. Hawksley Workman’s “Striptease” starts playing and Jared starts to get hard just from the Pavlovian conditioning. He fucked almost half a dozen guys to this song during college, including a different one after each performance of _Rocky Horror_. The first time it was Milo Ventimiglia, the guy who played Eddie. That was probably the only pairing in the whole show that wasn’t supported by canon. Even Jared couldn’t make a compelling fanfic case for that one. 

Jensen comes back wearing the black flowered corset and lace panties. Somehow it manages to make his pecs look flawless and his thighs almost obscene. Jensen takes one look at the cuffs and swallows hard. “Do your thing,” he says, his voice slightly raspy.

Jared fastens the cuffs around both of his wrists. His arms are spread out at a sixty degree angle, which he’s not going to leave him in for long. It’s too painful the first time. He turns around and says, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Jared dons his cowl and turns off the lights, leaving only a small desk lamp lit. “Call for help,” says Jared in his normal voice.

“Help?” Jensen sounds unsure, but then he seems to get into it. “Help me! I’m trapped!”

Jared turns around. “I’m coming!” he shouts in his deep Batman voice. He sees Jensen bite back a laugh, pressing his lips firmly together.

He climbs on the end of the bed. “Where are the others? Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” replies Jensen, sounding rather convincingly terrified. Jared wonders if Jensen has some theater background he’s not aware of. 

“Who did this? Did you see?”

Jensen shakes his head. “He had a mask on. Covered his whole head. And then he covered my eyes.”

Jared rolls back on his heels. “I need to search the building.”

Jensen swallows. In a shaking voice, he responds, “Do what you have to do. Just—come back soon?”

Jared reaches out and strokes Jensen’s hair. “I’ll be quick. I promise. I’m not leaving you.”

Jared jumps down and lies on his belly on the floor to hide from Jensen. On the stereo, the song switches to George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex.” He has a momentary pang of guilt thinking of the singer's posthumous status. He lets the song play through and then gets up. 

Jensen’s struggling against the bonds, not hard, just for show. “Help me! Please?”

“I’ve secured the area,” rasps Jared. “But I’ll have to pick the locks. It’ll take time.”

“Just don’t leave me again,” murmurs Jensen, and he actually sounds hurt. 

Jared fiddles with the cuffs. They’re only Velcro, but they’re strong, and Jensen can’t get out of them on his own. He rests a hand on Jensen’s shoulder as he pretends to fiddle with the one on Jensen’s left wrist. “I’m not leaving. I’m here. I’m taking care of you.”

“I’m scared,” Jensen says in a small voice, and those plush pink lips turn out in a pout. Jared adjusts his rapidly-hardening dick inside his briefs. 

“Don’t be,” he says in his Batman voice. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Jensen leans forward and brushes his forehead against Jared’s bicep. “You’re so strong,” he simpers. “You have such big muscles.”

“Comes with the job,” he rasps. He reaches down with one hand and traces the neckline of the corset. He starts unfastening the hook-and-eye closures down the middle one by one. 

Jensen’s eyebrows shoot up, like he didn’t realize they were there. But he fights it down and drops back into character. “You’re so brave. But I guess that’s part of the job too.”

“Can’t be a superhero if you’re not brave,” Jared agrees. He unhooks a few more fasteners. He trails his hand down to Jensen’s crotch and feels the damp rayon of the panties that cover Jensen’s rock-hard cock. He’s enjoying this, too. He slips a hand under the waistband and flicks the tip of his thumb over the slit. Jensen arches his back and thrusts his cock further into Jared’s grip. Jared pumps it a few times and, as a courtesy, slides off the panties. He tosses them over the side of the bed and licks a bead of precome off the slit. Then he runs the tip of his tongue underneath the sensitized head, making Jensen buck his hips and nearly hit Jared in the forehead with his pelvic bone. 

Jared takes Jensen’s cock further into his mouth. He laves a thick stripe up the underside of the shaft, then releases it and slides a hand up Jensen’s pelvis to the lower hem of the corset. Jensen squirms. “Ja—I mean, Batman, please, have mercy!”

“You like that?” Jared rasps. He unfastens another couple of hooks and slides his hand over to tease at Jensen’s left nipple. He rolls it between his thumb and forefinger, coaxing it into hardness. Jensen drops his head back and moans. 

Jared leaves Jensen’s wrists bound, since he doesn’t seem to be disliking or resenting the restraints. “You’re just so pretty,” he breathes, sliding his hand to Jensen’s other nipple and teasing it into hardness. “No wonder the Joker went for you. He likes the pretty ones.”

“And what do you like?” gasps Jensen.

Jared smirks at him. “The grateful ones.”

“I’ll do anything you want,” says Jensen, breathing hard. 

“Anything?” Jared raises an eyebrow.

“I owe you everything,” murmurs Jensen. “I want to—to express my gratitude.”

Jared flicks open a few more hooks. “You would do _anything_?”

“Anything at all.” Jensen honest-to-God flutters his fucking eyelashes. “Anything for you. You’re my hero.”

Jared reaches behind Jensen’s pillow where he hid the lube. He squeezes a generous amount on his fingers and runs one around the outside of Jensen’s hole. “Let me fuck you?”

“Absolutely,” gasps Jensen. 

Jared slides one slick finger into Jensen’s tight hole. Jensen’s breathing hard and it takes him a minute to relax and let Jared past the ring of muscle. Jared reaches his other hand up and cups Jensen’s chin. “Relax, baby. I gotcha.”

Jensen nods. “I know. I trust you.”

Jared slides a second finger in. Jensen tips his head back, exposing that long, freckles expanse of golden skin, and Jared presses his lips to it. Jensen moans as the warring sensations dazzle his senses. He goes boneless in Jared’s arms, completely open to Jared’s desires, and Jared’s never been so horny in his _life_.

He adds a third finger, scissoring open Jensen’s hole. He reaches under the pillow and retrieves a condom, then tears it open with his teeth and rolls it over his thick, straining cock. He pulls his fingers out of Jensen’s hole and spreads some lube over the condom. “You ready, babe?”

“Fuck yeah,” gasps Jensen.

Jared pushes his cock into Jensen’s slicked-up hole and Jensen groans with pleasure. He presses in as far as he can, past the ring of muscle, and Jensen just leans back and lets him in. Jared starts to thrust, establishing a rather intense rhythm, and Jensen tips his head back and lets Jared do as he pleases. 

Jared captures Jensen’s hot, dry lips for a kiss as he plunders Jensen’s ass. Jensen bucks against the restraints but doesn’t complain, just gasps and moans as Jared fucks him as fast and hard as he dares. Seeing Jensen like this, totally vulnerable and yielding to Jared’s every demand, is just about the hottest goddamn thing he’s ever imagined. 

Jensen breaks the kiss and tips his head back on the pillow, panting so hard that Jared falters momentarily. “I’m okay,” gasps Jensen. “Fuck, just—just like that.”

Jared continues to thrust and Jensen continues to fight against the restraints, but not in a way that indicates distress. Jared comes with a stuttering shout and spills his load into the condom. Jensen bucks his hips and Jared takes his quivering cock in one hand and jacks him through his own orgasm as he’s pulling off the condom with his other hand. Jensen comes with a hoarse groan that Jared swallows by covering Jensen’s mouth with his own. He ties off the condom and throws it away as Jensen shudders through the aftershocks. Finally, he releases Jensen’s wrists and Jensen immediately throws his arms around Jared, who collapses next to him on the mattress. “That was incredible,” breathes Jensen. 

“You liked it?” Jared’s breathing hard, but he manages to smile.

“I loved it,” replies Jensen. “I kind of want to try it from the other end.”

“You gotta ask nicely.” Jared nuzzles Jensen’s temple with his nose.

“Please can I tie you up and fuck you next time?”

Jared smirks. “I’ll think about it.”

Jensen kisses his temple and rubs his wrists, even though Jared knows the cuffs don’t chafe. “That’s all I ask.” 


	9. Jensen and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen has a really bad day at work, and Jared makes it better. 
> 
> (Everything but the fight actually happened to me yesterday.)

When Jared’s phone rings with a call from Jensen, he grins as he answers it. “Hello?”

“I gotta ask you a question, and I just want a simple yes or no,” says Jensen in an extremely annoyed tone. The grin quickly falls off Jared’s face. “Can you pick me up at the Harrisburg Hospital ER?”

“ _What?_ ” shouts Jared.

“Yes or no?”

Jared stands up and grabs his keys from the hook by the door. “Yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks.” The line goes dead.

The good news is, Jensen didn’t sound seriously hurt. The bad news is that he sounded seriously pissed off. Jared assumes something must have happened at work, considering that Jensen’s shift wasn’t supposed to end for another half an hour. 

Jared takes the highway into the city and parks in the visitor parking garage at the hospital. It takes him about ten minutes to locate the ER and then another ten minutes to locate Jensen’s exam room.

Jared pushes aside a curtain and his jaw drops when he sees Jensen. His right eye is swollen shut and there’s a butterfly bandage on his badly bruised cheekbone. “What the hell happened?” he sputters, his mouth going dry in an instant.

“Fucking Larry,” replies Jensen. 

Jared’s eyes widen. “He punched you?”

“No, he pissed off a patron and I got caught in the crossfire.” Jensen jumps down off the bed. “I’ll tell you more after I get my Vicodin.” He waves a prescription sheet and shoves aside the curtain. “Come on!”

Jared follows Jensen out of the ER and into the hallway. “Where’d you park?”

“Garage.” Jared takes Jensen’s hand and squeezes it. “I’m glad you’re okay. Come on, it’s this way.” He steers them toward the elevators.

Once Jensen’s safely buckled into Jared’s car, Jared gets back on the highway, figuring Jensen can fill his script at the CVS by his house. One thing’s for sure, Jared’s staying at Jensen’s tonight. Jensen needs him, even if he’s not willing to admit it. 

Jensen gets his pills and Jared buys him a bottle of water so he can take one. By the time they get back to Jensen’s condo, Jensen’s in a considerably better mood. Jared unlocks the door with Jensen’s key and grabs an ice pack from the freezer. He leads Jensen to his bedroom and strips off his work clothes, replacing them with flannel pants and a t-shirt. Then he props Jensen up on pillows and presses the ice pack to his injured eye. “You want pizza or Chinese?”

Jensen shakes his head. “Whatever’s faster. I never got lunch.”

The Chinese restaurant is five minutes down the road. “Chinese, then. You want your usual?”

“Yeah, and an extra egg roll.”

Jared calls the restaurant and puts in their order. “Twenty minutes,” he tells Jensen, and hangs up the phone. “You ready to talk yet?”

Jensen pats the mattress next to him. “C’mere, you.” Jared settles in next to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders. “Sorry I was such a bitch. Today was just the day from hell.”

“What happened?”

“Well, it started with three patron transactions that would have taken a quarter of the time if any of us spoke Spanish.” Jensen leans into Jared’s embrace and rests his head on Jared’s shoulder. “Then, two patrons tried to send files to the printer and the attachments never showed up in Envisionware. Then a cyber school student couldn’t connect to the wifi. Then poor Felicia had to deal with a woman so computer-illiterate it took her an hour to create a username and password on a credit card site. I was getting an ulcer just listening to it. Then Chang the pervert started looking up borderline porn again, and after that Larry started a theological argument with an immigrant. I was trying to break it up when the guy took a swing and hit me instead. So then Mark had to call the cops and INA, and the cops called an ambulance, and Mark and I had to call half a dozen administrators and fill out reams of paperwork and make copies of the security camera footage for INA and the cops and it was just a fucking nightmare.”

“Jesus.” Jared kisses Jensen’s forehead and strokes his arm. “I’m just glad it wasn’t any worse. What did the doctors say?”

“The swelling should go down by tomorrow, but I’ll have a hell of a black eye, and my cheekbone is cracked but it’ll heal on its own.”

“You think Admin will ban Larry?”

“Mark and I are gonna ask them to.” Jensen sets the ice pack on the nightstand and reaches over Jared to grab a fleece throw from on top of the storage ottoman. Jared takes it from his hand and spreads it out over them both.

“I’m so fuckin’ tired,” mutters Jensen.

“Food should be here in about ten minutes,” says Jared. “Eat first, then we can shower and go to bed.”

“You’re staying?”

Jared lightly taps Jensen’s shoulder. “Of course I’m staying. I’m taking care of you. That’s what boyfriends do.”

“You don’t have to.”

Jared shifts so he can give Jensen a proper kiss. “I want to. You deserve it, after the day you’ve had. If you’re good, I might even give you a massage later.”

“Mmmm.” Jensen’s good eye drifts closed. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

“And you’re kind of an idiot,” Jared replies softly. “But I love you anyway.”


	10. The Healing Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared gives Jensen some hands-on healing.

Jared and Jensen are still curled up together on the bed when the doorbell rings. “Food,” says Jared, jumping up. “Be right back.”

When Jared comes back with the two bags, Jensen throws the ice pack aside and sits up straight. “Oh my God, that smells good,” he moans, and Jared hands him the bag that contains his egg rolls, sesame chicken, and combination lo mein. Jensen tears into it immediately and Jared goes and gets a towel from the bathroom to catch crumbs. Jensen arches an eyebrow when Jared spreads the towel across their laps. “That’s a really good idea.”

“I only have good ideas,” replies Jared, grinning. He takes out his container of fried dumplings and sauce and starts eating.

They’re mostly silent during dinner, too focused on food and not making a mess. But Jensen doesn’t last very long before he starts complaining that all the chewing is making his cheek hurt. Jared ends up going out to the kitchen to get a real knife and fork so he can cut Jensen’s sesame chicken into tiny pieces. Jensen eats about half of it before he shoves it away and hands the now-lukewarm ice pack to Jared. “Get me another one…please?” he adds, almost as an afterthought.

Jared smiles softly. “You got it.” He puts the used ice pack in the freezer and retrieves a fresh one. When he comes back, Jensen’s sunk back into the pillows, and his face is paler than it was just a minute ago. Jared gently presses the ice pack to Jensen’s injured cheek and Jensen reaches up sluggishly to hold it in place. 

Jared climbs on the bed next to him and gathers up the half-empty food containers. “I guess I can put this stuff away.”

Jensen shrugs. “Yeah.”

Jared packs up the leftovers and puts them in the fridge for tomorrow. He finds the information sheet for Jensen’s pain meds on the table and reads that he can’t have another one for almost three hours, but he can have ibuprofen in the meantime. Jared roots through Jensen’s bathroom closet until he finds some. Then he pours Jensen a glass of water and takes both into the bedroom. “Here. It’s just ibuprofen, but it might help.”

“Something has to,” mutters Jensen, accepting the pills and water. He downs both and flops back on the pillows. “This sucks.”

Jared pats his knee. “I know. Is there anything I can do?”

“Didn’t you say something about a massage earlier?”

Jared nods. “I seem to remember something like that.” He climbs on the bed and helps Jensen remove his shirt and shift onto his stomach. Then he piles the pillows underneath Jensen’s head and neck to support his injuries. 

Jensen rests his cheek on the ice pack and groans. Jared straddles Jensen’s hips and rests his hands on the sides of Jensen’s neck. He digs into the tense muscles with his thumbs, rubbing deep circles into the knots there. This time the groan is clearly from pleasure more than pain. “Yeah, jus’ like tha’.”

Once Jared feels like he’s loosened the knots in Jensen’s neck, he moves on to his shoulders, digging deep with his thumbs and fingertips until Jensen goes boneless and lets out a drawn-out moan. “Yer th’ bes’,” murmurs Jensen.

“Just you wait,” replies Jared in a low, hunky voice. He turns his attention to Jensen’s shoulder blades and upper back, pressing down hard with the heels of his hands and rolling forward to the tips of his fingers. Jensen keeps letting out these little breathy gasps that shoot straight to Jared’s dick, which is clamoring to join the party. But that’s not what Jensen needs right now, and this is about Jensen, not Jared. Although…endorphins are natural painkillers…

Jared shakes his head and continues massaging Jensen’s back. He moves down lower, to the middle of Jensen’s spine, and continues digging in deep with the heels of his hands. He starts making small circles on top of Jensen’s lower ribs and widening them until the heels of Jared’s hands are atop the waistband of Jensen’s pajama pants. Jared pulls Jensen’s pants and boxers down, not low enough to expose his hole, but low enough for Jared to work some magic above his hipbones.

“Hope yer goin’ sum’where wi’ this,” mutters Jensen, raising his hips to push his ass closer to Jared’s hands.

“Jensen, you’re in no shape to—”

“Fuck that,” says Jensen, perfectly clearly and with considerable force. “I mean, fuck _me_. Please.” He gestures toward the nightstand. “You know where the stuff is.”

“Are you sure you’re up to that?”

“Fucking _positive_ ,” growls Jensen. 

Jared opens the nightstand drawer and pulls out a condom and lube. He squeezes a generous amount of lube on his fingers and starts to prep Jensen.

“Hurry the fuck up,” orders Jensen once Jared has one finger all the way in. 

Jared adds a second and starts to scissor. “You’re fuckin’ bossy tonight.”

Jensen’s voice softens. “I spent four fucking hours in the ER and all that got me through it was thinking of you. I just wanted you there with me.”

“You should have called me sooner,” says Jared, adding finger number three.

“You were working.”

Jared snorts. “Like that would’ve mattered. I’d have moved heaven and earth to get to you, you know that.” He unwraps the condom and rolls it onto his dick. “Ready?”

Jared can see the glare on Jensen’s face without actually looking at it. “Fuck yeah, come on!”

Jared eases his dick into Jensen’s slick but tight hole. “Fuckin’ relax, man. You’re too tight.”

He feels Jensen make a conscious effort to loosen up. He presses in further, stopping just before the ring of muscle. He pulls out and makes an experimental thrust. When Jensen doesn’t object, he starts to thrust in earnest. Jensen bucks his hips, pushing Jared even further in. Once Jared hits the sweet spot, Jensen cries out. “Yeeahhh, baby. Jus’ like that.”

Jared fucks Jensen as hard as he dares, not wanting to risk hurting him any more than he already is. But Jensen’s writhing and moaning in pleasure, a blissed-out puddle of flesh lying pliant underneath Jared’s grip, and Jared knows he’s not gonna make it much longer. He hits the sweet spot once, twice, and then a third time, and that’s it, Jensen’s gone. Jensen comes with a stuttering moan and Jared thrusts a few more times to achieve his own release. He pulls out carefully and Jensen collapses beneath him, clearly spent. 

Jared ties off the condom and throws it in the trash can. He slings an arm around Jensen’s shoulders and rests his head on the pillow next to Jensen’s. He brushes his lips over Jensen’s temple, and Jensen lifts his head for a proper kiss, icepack forgotten for the moment. “Thank you,” Jensen breathes. “You can’t even begin to imagine how much better that made me feel.”

Jared smiles and kisses Jensen again. “I’m really glad I could help.”

Jensen lies back down and presses the icepack to his injured cheek. “Wake me up in an hour and you can ‘help’ me again.”

Jared sprawls out next to him and rests his head on his hand. “Sounds good to me.”


	11. A Little Serenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen's stressed out and frustrated. Jared helps him relax.

“So what happened? Tell me everything.”

Jensen gestures at the couch. “Sit, I’ll bring wine.” 

Jared does so reluctantly. He really wants to know what happened at Jensen’s meeting with Larry about the fight. “Are you stalling?”

“I want alcohol for this,” admits Jensen, reappearing with two generous glasses of red wine.

“That bad, huh?”

Jensen takes a big sip of his wine. “Well, first off, it wasn’t just us. Jeff was actually there.”

“Holy shit, really?” Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the Executive Director of the whole library system. He only shows up for serious matters. 

“Yeah. Plus Jim, as my supervisor, and Aldis from INA.” Jensen drinks more wine. “Hell, they even sent Emily, the AA from ESA, to take notes.”

“So did they fucking ban him or not?”

Jensen sighs and shakes his head.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” groans Jared. “So what did they say?”

“Jeff and Jim had a long talk with him about subjects that are off-limits with staff and patrons, including, but not limited to, death threats, violence threats, politics, economics, world religions, and basically anything you’d find on Fox News or those bullshit right-wing conspiracy blogs he frequents.” Jensen smirks. “It’s basically a total gag order. He can literally say nothing except computer questions. Felicia and Briana are thrilled.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Jared sips his own wine. “And if he violates the gag order?”

“It’s a three-strikes policy. First strike, he gets a verbal warning. Second strike, he’s kicked out for the rest of the day. Third strike, he’s banned for a year.”

“So he will be banned, it’ll just take another week.”

“With his level of impulse control?” Jensen finishes the glass. “Yeah, we figure he’ll be banned by Saturday.”

“So, it wasn’t all bad.”

Jensen stands up. “No, but it’s not what I wanted. They are gonna ban the guy who punched me, though, in addition to pressing charges for misdemeanor battery.”

“Well, that’s something.” Jared watches as Jensen pours himself another huge glass of wine. He walks to the breakfast bar and leans on it, giving Jensen his most seductive gaze. “What say we go work off some of that tension?”

Jensen downs half the glass. “How could I refuse?” He stretches out a hand and Jared clasps it. 

Jensen leads him up the staircase to his bedroom. Jared notes the open dresser drawers and overflowing hamper and frowns. No wonder Jensen’s drinking. The stress must really be getting to him. In a way, Jared can’t blame him—it’s hard to deal with the fact that the place you spend the majority of your waking life isn’t as safe as you thought it was. 

Jensen finishes off his second glass and sets Jared’s half-full one down on the nightstand. He takes both of Jared’s hands in his and pulls him in for an all-too-brief kiss. “I’m sorry I’m so stressed. It’s just—”

Jared presses one finger to Jensen’s lips. “I get it. It’s not your fault.” He replaces the finger with his own lips, but keeps the kiss light and soft. “Let me take your mind off it. Just let me take care of you.”

“Mmmm.” Jared’s lips wander down Jensen’s chin to his jaw and Jensen tips his head back to give Jared better access to his throat. “Sounds nice.”

Jared slips his hands underneath Jensen’s sweater vest and pulls it over his head. Once it’s off, he returns his lips to Jensen’s throat, kissing a trail down from his pulse point as he unties Jensen’s striped tie and unbuttons his crisp white shirt. Those both end up on the floor, but Jensen doesn’t seem to mind. 

Jared makes quick work of his own shirt and busies himself with removing Jensen’s trousers and boxer-briefs. As he does, he peppers Jensen’s sternum with feather-light kisses. He skates his hands up Jensen’s thighs after Jensen kicks his pants aside and finds Jensen fully hard already. 

“Bed, _now_ ” insists Jensen, and Jared doesn’t even hesitate before scooping Jensen up in a bridal carry and laying him out on the bed with the delicate ease of a Disney prince. Jensen blushes and reaches for Jared’s jeans. Jared nudges his hands aside and makes quick work of them on his own. 

Jared climbs onto the bed next to Jensen. He strokes Jensen’s hair and tenderly caresses Jensen’s lips with his own. “Slow down, you move too fast,” sings Jared in a low, tuneless voice. “You got to make the morning last.”

“It’s not morning,” growls Jensen. “And anticipating this is the only thing that got me through that goddamn ordeal, so forgive me if I don’t want to fuck around tonight.”

Jared pushes himself up on one elbow. “I’m worried about you,” he says quietly. “This isn’t like you.”

Jensen lets out an explosive sigh and rubs a hand over his mouth. “I know.” He closes his eyes. “It’s just…this is harder than I thought.”

“Maybe you need some help.” Jared cups Jensen’s cheek and turns his head so they’re facing one another. “A professional.”

“Jim said that too,” Jensen admits softly. “It’s probably a good idea.”

“I’ll help you look up some names in the morning,” offers Jared. “Right now, I just want to show you how much I love you.”

Jensen’s lips turn up in a small but genuine smile. “I love you too, Jared. You’re the best damn thing that ever happened to me in this job.”

“I could say the same about you.” Jared reaches down to the end of the bed and pulls the quilt up over both of them. He reaches for the remote to Jensen’s stereo and turns it on. He vaguely recognizes the piano concerto that starts playing as Mozart. “What is this?”

“ _Eine Kleine Nachtmusik_ ,” answers Jensen. “A Little Serenade.”

“Perfect.” Jared kisses Jensen on the cheek and cuddles him close. “Mozart can serenade you better than I can.”

“Yeah, really,” replies Jensen, but Jared knows he’s just teasing. “Simon and Garfunkel, seriously? How do you even know that song?” 

“Fourth grade music class.” Jared runs his fingers through Jensen’s hair. “It was either that or ‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head.’”

“Okay, in that case, Simon and Garfunkel doesn’t seem so bad.”

Jared kisses Jensen’s nose. “I’d like to see you do better.”

Jensen yawns. “I only sing in the shower.”

“Is that an invitation?”

Jensen grins and brings his lips to meet Jared’s. “Sure is.”


	12. Another Year Older

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared helps Jensen celebrate his birthday with a not-so-quiet night at home.

Jared struggles to ring Jensen’s doorbell with one hand full of takeout bags and the other holding two wine bottles, also bagged, that he doesn’t want to bang around too much. He ends up just leaning his shoulder against the tiny switch instead.

When Jensen opens the door, his face lights up. “Hey! What’s all this? I thought we were going out?”

“Let me in and I’ll explain.”

Jensen steps aside. “Here, let me take something.” Jared hands him the wine, which he carefully sets on the counter. Jared places the two takeout bags on the dining room table. “I chilled the wine as much as I could, but I only bought it two hours ago.”

Jensen takes the bottles out of the bag and raises an eyebrow. “Cremant? I didn’t think you knew French wines.”

“I don’t. I Googled “wine with sushi” and that’s what it suggested.” 

Jensen’s thousand-watt smile comes out in full force. After the dreary, stormy day they’ve had, it’s a welcome ray of light. “You brought sushi? I didn’t think you liked sushi.”

“I don’t like the raw stuff, but there’s cooked stuff I like,” replies Jared. He starts unpacking the takeout bags. “I got shumai and soft shell crab, and then Sushi Deluxe for you, with the miso soup, and California rolls and coconut shrimp rolls for me.”

“This is officially the best birthday I’ve had since I turned twenty-one,” says Jensen with a delighted smile. He crosses the room and throws his arms around Jared, kissing him breathless.

“It’s the least I could do,” says Jared when Jensen finally lets him up for air. “I know it’s been a really rough couple of weeks for you.”

“I haven’t even told you what happened yesterday,” says Jensen, his face clouding over. “You were in trainings all day.”

“I got your text that said you banned Larry. Did something else happen?”

Jensen nods. “He threatened to kill himself when Aldis tried to escort him out.”

Jared’s mouth drops open. “You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Nope. Aldis asked him if he was a danger to himself or others and he was so frantic that Aldis called for the ambulance anyway, but took him over to the DJ’s office to wait for it, so he was off property.”

“God, I’m so glad you’re done with this shit for a year,” says Jared, rubbing a hand down Jensen’s back. “Come on, let’s eat. If the food doesn’t cheer you up, the wine definitely should.”

Jensen goes back to the kitchen to pour the wine. Jared starts opening containers and separating the wooden chopsticks. But naturally, Jensen brings a wooden set with painted cherry blossom boughs to the table in a small wooden chest. “You know, you’re so pretentious that I should hate your guts, but instead I find your stuffiness incredibly endearing. What is _wrong_ with me?”

Jensen sets two full glasses of sparkling wine on the table. “I could reach for a cliche, like ‘love is blind’ or ‘opposites attract’…” He curves a hand around Jared’s neck and tilts his head up for a kiss. “But instead, I’m just gonna thank whoever’s up there for putting you in my path.” 

Jared grins. “Happy birthday, Jensen.”

“Sure is,” replies Jensen with an even bigger grin.

They both start eating then, dividing the shumai and crab appetizers between the two of them and then sorting out the various rolls. Jared ends up giving half of one of his coconut shrimp rolls to Jensen when he starts drooling over it. It’s a shrimp tempura roll with crab and coconut flakes and two different sauces on top, and it’s the whole reason Jared goes to Empire in the first place. Well, that and the half-price sushi Sundays. “It’s too bad your birthday wasn’t on Sunday,” says Jared. “We could have ordered even more.”

“Oh, God, this is plenty,” says Jensen, wiping some stray dumpling sauce off of his chin. “This is amazing. Thank you so much. I know this wasn't cheap.”

Jared smiles. “I’m full time now. I’m rolling in the dough.”

Jensen laughs so hard he almost chokes on his spicy tuna. “We work for a nonprofit. Shit, even Jeff doesn’t make more than 50 grand. That’s gotta be about half what he’d make in a for-profit company.”

“Did you talk to him yesterday?”

“Yeah. I called him after Aldis removed Larry.” Jensen sets a shrimp tail back on his plate. “He was totally supportive. He said that the Reference department at ESA is buying us donuts, they’re so grateful to us for getting him out of their hair. And they only deal with him two days a week!”

“Wow, are you serious?” Jared loses a piece of cucumber from his California roll and struggles to pick it up with the chopsticks. 

Jensen chuckles. “Yeah, he said Ruth would be by tomorrow with them.”

“Man, I miss everything good.”

Jensen stops with a piece of salmon nigiri halfway to his mouth. “I would have given anything to have you there with me,” he says, almost too softly to hear. 

Jared sets his chopsticks down and covers Jensen’s hand with his. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

Jensen shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. You did more than enough. You kept me from falling apart, and I’m incredibly grateful for that, because I don’t think I could have gotten through this without you.” His voice starts to shake on the last sentence.

Jared stands up and steps behind Jensen’s chair to wrap his arms around him and kiss his jaw. “I will _always_ be there for you. I promise.”

“Thank you,” whispers Jensen. 

Jared kisses him once more and returns to his seat. They eat in silence, and when they’re finished Jared refuses to let Jensen help him clear the table. “It’s your birthday. You’re not allowed to do chores.”

Jensen heads to the stairs and waits for Jared to tie up the full garbage bag. “When do I get to unwrap my present?”

Jared follows Jensen up the stairs, and at the top he grabs him and throws him over his shoulder. “You may be the birthday boy, but I’m the one getting the present.”

Jared charges into Jensen’s room and throws Jensen down on the bed. He jumps on top of him and unbuttons his shirt with lightning speed. In no time at all, Jensen is stripped bare and laid out beneath him, cheeks flushed pink to match the tip of his now-hard cock. Jared pulls his phone out of one pocket and connects it to Jensen’s Amazon Echo. He starts the playlist he made before he came, and soon Bad Company’s “She Brings Me Love,” bursts forth from the speaker. 

Jared reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his other surprise—a bottle of raspberry massage oil. He sets it on the bed next to Jensen and makes quick work of his own clothes, tossing them in the same pile as Jensen’s. Then he squeezes a dollop of oil into his hand and starts rubbing it into Jensen’s shoulders. 

“Mmm, smells good,” murmurs Jensen. “Sweet.”

“You’re a sweet guy.” Jared gently blows on Jensen’s shoulders, eliciting a full-body shiver. Jared leans down and kisses a trail along Jensen’s collarbone, pausing at the hollow of Jensen’s throat to graze his teeth over the sensitized skin. Jensen moans and throws his head back, thrusting his neck even further into Jared’s grip. Jared gently bites down, drawing a hiss from Jensen, then soothes the area with his tongue. Jensen tastes like summer, sweet like a berry cobbler but with a hint of spice, that little tang of musk that’s uniquely _Jensen_. “You’re also the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, even if you are over the hill.”

Jensen chokes out a bark of shocked laughter. “I’m not forty yet, asshole.”

Jared frowns. “You’re not?”

Jensen shakes his head, his hair tickling Jared’s forehead. “Nope. Thirty-nine.”

“I think your birthday’s wrong in Sierra,” says Jared. “‘Cause it’s listed as 3/1/76.”

“It’s 3/1/78,” replies Jensen. “I’ll have to go in there and fix it tomorrow.” He shakes his head. “Sierra issues. That’s, like, the least sexy topic in the known universe.”

“No, the Dewey Decimal System is worse.” Jared grins. “Did you know that the Dewey Decimal number for sex is 649.65?”

“And you call _me_ nerdy?” Jensen mock-glares at Jared. “That’s it, you’re banned from speaking for the next five minutes.”

Jared glares right back. He squeezes more oil into his hands and massages it into Jensen’s pecs, which are really firm for a thirty-nine-year-old Branch Librarian. He dabs a drop of oil onto each index finger and starts circling Jensen’s nipples, coaxing them into hardness. Then he takes one between his lips and starts flicking his tongue over it, collecting the sweet oil and eliciting deep, almost pained groans from Jensen. “Fuckin’ tease,” mutters Jensen.

Jared opens his mouth to sass back, but remembers that he’s still got a couple minutes left on his sentence, so he instead moves to Jensen’s other nipple and flutters his tongue over the sensitive bud in a way that makes Jensen buck his hips and moan deep in his throat. 

Jared starts rubbing Jensen’s abs with the sweet oil, making wide circles with his palms and drawing little breathy gasps of pleasure from Jensen. “You can talk now,” says Jensen, as Jared directs his attention to the ridges of Jensen’s hips. “And Jesus Christ, would you get to the fireworks factory already?”

“Don’t you have any stamina any more, old man?” teases Jared, dabbing more oil onto his fingers. He slides one slick hand up Jensen’s shaft to the tip, flicking a bead of precome off the slit with his thumb. He tastes it, and the combination of salty and sweet blows him away with how _right_ it is. He immediately squeezes more oil onto his hand and starts coating Jensen’s dick with it, paying special attention to the head. He lightly runs a fingertip around the underside of the head and Jensen bucks his hips so hard he nearly puts Jared’s eye out. “Fuck!”

“Sorry, sorry,” breathes Jensen, sounding anything but. 

Jared pins Jensen’s hips to the mattress with his free hand and continues to spread oil over Jensen’s dick with the other. When he takes Jensen’s cock into his mouth, the sweet taste of the oil is almost overwhelming. Once he’s removed a good deal of it, Jensen’s heady musk starts to come through, cutting the sweetness with a hint of bitterness and spice. Jensen’s panting and moaning, and Jared gently presses a fingertip behind his balls to pleasure him further. Jensen grits his teeth. “Fuck, would you just—”

Jared releases Jensen’s cock with a succulent _pop_ and presses his spicy-sweet lips to Jensen’s. “What do you want, birthday boy?” he whispers, lips brushing over Jensen’s with each word.

“Stop teasing and fuck me already,” growls Jensen.

“That’s your birthday wish?”

“Jared, I swear to God—”

Jared covers Jensen’s protesting lips with his own. “You got it, babe.” He reaches into Jensen’s nightstand drawer and grabs a condom and lube. The massage oil is water-based, so he doesn’t need to worry about it being all over his hands. 

He sets the bottle of massage oil on the nightstand and spreads lube over his fingers instead. He eases one into Jensen’s hot, tight hole, and Jensen gasps. “Yeah, yeah,” he whispers, head thrown back. 

Jared adds another finger in short order, but Jensen grumbles impatiently. “Come on, just do it.” Jared starts to scissor. He’s not a small guy, and he doesn’t think two fingers are quite enough, so he adds a third as fast as he’s comfortable with and hurries the process along. 

“Finally,” mutters Jensen when Jared eases his latex-clad cock into Jensen’s slick hole. Jared silences Jensen with his own lips as he starts to thrust. He has to break away for air, though, but Jensen seems to have gotten the message. “Fuck, yeah, harder,” he rasps.

Jared fucks Jensen as hard as he dares, and Jensen’s lips quirk up with pleasure as he gasps and moans and writhes underneath Jared. He keeps tilting his head back, so Jared peppers the long golden expanse of his throat with little kisses, each one tasting sweeter than the last. Jensen squeezes his eyes shut and the cords in his neck stand out as he sucks in bursts of air. 

“‘m so close,” he groans, and Jared redoubles his efforts. It’s only a few moments before Jensen comes with a ragged shout, sinking boneless into the mattress. Jared thrusts a few more times before achieving his own release, and once he’s freed his own cock, he collapses next to Jensen, pressing a few last kisses to his collarbone to taste the summery sweetness. 

“I love you,” breathes Jensen, kissing Jared’s flushed cheek.

“I love you too,” murmurs Jared. “Happy birthday.”

“The happiest in years,” replies Jensen with a satisfied sigh.


	13. Blanket Objection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen is sick. Jared knows how to make him feel better.

Jared rings the doorbell at Jensen’s house. It seems like forever until Jensen opens the door, face flushed and clutching tissues in one hand. “Hey, I was just at Kline and Mark said you were sick. Are you okay?”

Jensen beckons Jared in and shuts the door. “Not really,” he rasps, staggering to the couch and collapsing into it like answering the door took all his strength. He sneezes into the wad of tissues and drops it into a trash can that’s been moved from the kitchen to the couch. “You really need a mask or something if you’re gonna stay.”

Jared sits down next to Jensen, who’s fumbling with a blue plaid throw, and wraps the throw around Jensen’s shoulders. He’s wearing a gray t-shirt and flannel pants, his nose is bright red, his eyes are sunken and deeply shadowed, and yet he’s still the most gorgeous guy Jared’s ever seen. “You need anything? Have you eaten? I could make soup.”

Jensen coughs into his elbow and draws his knees up onto the couch. “Soup would be good. There’s some chicken noodle soup on the bottom shelf of the pantry.”

Jared pats Jensen’s shoulder and goes to the kitchen. He locates the box of soup and puts some water on to boil. Then he digs a water bottle out of the fridge and takes it to Jensen. “Here, drink this. I’m sure you need it.”

Jensen sips at it, making a face every time he swallows, and sets it aside without making a significant dent in the water level. Jensen shivers and wraps the throw even tighter around him. It’s then that Jared gets a brilliant idea. He goes over to the recliner and pushes it towards the couch. Jensen coughs. “What the hell?”

“I’ll put it back later,” promises Jared. He moves the other recliner to the other side of the couch and takes the lid off the storage ottoman to reveal several more fleece blankets and throws. “Perfect.”

Jensen sneezes twice, snorfles into a tissue, and glares at Jared with red, watery eyes. “You are not making my living room into a blanket fort.”

“I promise it will make you three hundred percent warmer,” replies Jared with a grin. “You’re sick. It’s okay to let your inner child out.”

“I don’t have an inner child,” grumbles Jensen. “That’s what I have you for.”

Jared unfolds a dark green fleece blanket. He drapes it over the recliner and the floor lamp before tucking it between the couch and the wall. He gets out another fleece blanket and drapes it over the other recliner. He stretches it to meet the other blanket in the middle of the couch and tucks the free end between the cushion and the back frame of the recliner closest to the couch. Jensen is now neatly enclosed underneath a canopy of fleece. 

Jared goes out to the kitchen and adds the soup mix to the boiling water. He keeps an eye on it until it’s done simmering and then pours some into one of Jensen’s giant stoneware soup mugs. He grabs a spoon and a sleeve of crackers and takes it out to the living room. He locates a folding tray table in the coat closet and ducks between the blankets to set everything up in front of Jensen. 

Jensen pulls out some crackers and actually gives Jared half a smile. “This is pretty warm,” he admits, breaking the crackers up and dropping them into the soup bowl. “And kind of cozy.”

Jared sits down on the couch next to Jensen, leaving no space between their bodies. Jensen’s hunched over the tray table, letting the steam curl around his sore nose and chapped lips. He gingerly sips at the hot soup and sniffles. Jared moves the tissue box from the end table to the tray table and Jensen smiles his thanks.

Jensen only eats half the soup before declaring himself finished, and he goes through about a dozen tissues. Jared cleans up, putting the rest of the soup in the refrigerator for later, and returns to the blanket fort to curl up with Jensen.

“You really should stay away,” protests Jensen. “You really don’t want to catch this.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Jared kisses the top of Jensen’s head and stretches an arm around his shoulders. It’s a little uncomfortably hot for Jared, who’s still wearing a button-down shirt and jeans, but he’ll live. Jensen coughs and cuddles even closer to Jared, resting his head on Jared’s shoulder and sighing. 

“You’re the best,” murmurs Jensen, sniffling and coughing lightly into his arm. “Today totally sucked until you came over.”

Jared kisses Jensen’s forehead and smiles. “Anytime.”


	14. Two Become One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen has a rough day. Jared brings food and the promise of a brighter future.

“So how was your first day back?” asks Jared, setting his foil pan down on the counter and reaching for the oven controls.

“Not so great,” replies Jensen, leaning heavily against the breakfast bar. “What’s that?”

“Chicken and dumplings,” answers Jared with a grin. “My mom’s recipe. I figured you’d be tired of soup, but still want comfort food.”

Jensen takes a step forward and lifts the foil covering the top of the pan. “I never turn down free food.” He sniffs loudly and frowns. “I bet it smells awesome.”

Jared sets the oven to preheat and replaces the covering. “Yeah, it does. Go use that saline spray that I brought you, and I bet you’ll be able to smell it while it’s heating up.”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “Yes, _Mom_.” He goes upstairs, presumably to the bathroom, and returns a minute later, sniffling and rubbing his nose. “Did you put it in yet?”

“No, it’s still preheating.” Jared opens the refrigerator and pours them both big glasses of sweet tea. He hands one to Jensen and gestures at the dining room table. “Sit, it’ll be awhile. So what happened at work?”

Jensen heaves a huge sigh. “We got rid of Larry, so now Carletta’s moved into the Number One Annoyance slot.”

Jared grimaces. He remembers her, too. “What’d she do now?”

“Well, it was about 2:30 when she used up all her time, so she wanted a guest pass, but all she had was a twenty and Osric and Briana both told her they didn’t have change. So she went to the bank across the street to break it, but she left all her shit around Computer 12. So another guy comes up wanting to use it, and Osric and Briana both told him that if she wasn’t logged in, he was free to get on, but he didn’t want to move her stuff. So Carletta came back and Briana sold her the guest pass and settled her account, and she got on, and then the other guy went back and started cussing her out.”

“Oh, Jesus.” The oven beeps, and Jared slides the pan onto the rack. He sets the timer for 20 minutes and takes a sip of his tea. “Who broke it up?”

“Nobody.” Jensen gulps the last of his tea and goes to the pantry to retrieve a half-full bottle of Pinot Gris. “Osric and Briana both ‘pretended’ not to hear, and Mark and I did rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would go, and then the guy just stormed out on his own. If Carletta said anything to him, we didn’t hear it.”

“Did you have to fill out a UOF?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No, I just asked Osric to send Mark and me an email with a summary of events just so I’d have a written record. Mark and I are gonna discuss it tomorrow morning. He and I were both working on other stuff while it was going on, but we want to nip this shit in the bud before it turns into another Larry situation.”

“Yeah, sounds like you need to do something about it,” says Jared. He finishes his tea and accepts the bottle of wine Jensen offers him. He only pours himself about half as much as Jensen, though. “You just can’t get a break, can you?”

“Apparently not.” Jensen downs half the wine and flops down onto his seat at the table. “I applied for Kim’s old job today.”

Jared’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “The Library Services Administrator position? I thought the administrative stuff was your least favorite part of the job.”

Jensen sighs and takes a large gulp of wine. “I don’t know if I can stand to stay at Kline much longer. I feel like I’m a fucking beat cop instead of a librarian.”

Jared crosses the room and clasps Jensen’s shoulder. “If that’s what you really want, then I hope it works out for you.”

Jensen covers Jared’s hand with his own and glances up at him. “Besides, without you there, what do I have to stay for?”

Jared’s eyes widen. “You don’t really mean that.”

Jensen shrugs. “Rich ditching us for MOM was kind of the last straw. Lauren’s nice enough, but she’s not catching on as quickly as I thought she would, and she might have outright lied to Felicia this afternoon, so I just…” Jensen sighs again and finishes his wine. “I think I’m done.”

Jared kisses the top of Jensen’s head. “I’m sorry you’re having such a rough time.” He picks up Jensen’s empty glass. “The food should be ready in about ten minutes. How about we finish this bottle and crack open that New Zealand Chardonnay you wanted to try?”

Jensen grins. “Sounds like a plan.”

Jared pours the last of the Pinot Gris into their glasses and retrieves the bottle of Chardonnay from the wine rack in Jensen’s pantry. Jensen enters the kitchen and uncorks it, downing his current glass in two swigs and refilling it with the Chardonnay. He takes a much smaller sip this time. “Man, that’s great.” 

He gestures for Jared to empty his glass, which Jared does, but a lot less quickly than Jensen did. Jensen pours him some Chardonnay and Jared tastes it. “Wow, that’s sweeter than I was expecting.”

Jensen nods. “Yeah, I think it’ll go really well with the chicken.” 

Just then, the oven timer beeps. Jared grabs some hot pads from the drawer next to the oven and pulls out the pan of chicken and dumplings. Jensen moves behind Jared and sniffs dramatically. “I can kind of smell it. I smell onions, and…is that rosemary?”

Jared nods and turns to kiss Jensen’s cheek. “Rosemary, thyme, and a little bit of dill.” He gestures to the cabinet. “Grab us those big stoneware pasta bowls.”

Jensen opens the cabinet and sets the two dinner-plate-sized shallow bowls on the counter. Jared dishes out generous portions of the chicken and dumplings into each and they both carry a bowl into the dining room. Jensen returns to the kitchen to fetch their wine, and he dims the lights in the dining room until it’s almost fully dark. Then he turns on his stereo. It’s jazz again, a mellow tenor sax that Jared doesn’t recognize. “Who’s this?”

“Joshua Redman.” Jensen sits down and picks up his fork. He takes a bite of the food and moans out loud. “Oh my God, this is amazing. I thought you said you couldn’t cook?”

Jared grins sheepishly. “My mom made it. It’s been in my freezer for a couple months.”

Jensen’s eyes widen. “And it’s still this good? Is your mother Julia Child reincarnated?”

Jared laughs. “Hardly. She just never got the hang of cooking for just her and Dad. I’ve still got a giant pan of stuffed shell casserole in my freezer, too.”

“Well, anytime you want to get rid of it, you know where I live.” Jensen takes another bite and closes his eyes in satisfaction. “I want this recipe. Can you get it from your mom next time you talk to her?”

Jared nods. “Sure. She’ll be thrilled. She always wanted at least one of us to follow in her footsteps, but my brother and sister are both as hopeless in the kitchen as I am.”

“Well, lucky for you, _I’ll_ be able to feed you in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed.” Jensen mock-glares at him. “Although you eat as much as three normal-sized people. so I might have to start charging you for the grocery bill.”

“Are you implying that you’re going to be feeding me more often?” Jared bites his lip. “Say, like…every day?”

Jensen slowly sets his fork down on his plate. “Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking if you can move in with me?”

Jared looks down at his plate and rubs the back of his neck. “Kind of? I mean, I’m here just about every day anyway, and I live in a shithole that’s way further from AFL than this place is, and I just—I’m not trying to impose or anything, I just thought—maybe…it was time?”

Jensen reaches over and covers Jared’s hand with his own. “Jared, nothing would make me happier than your gorgeous face being the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.” He lifts Jared’s hand to his mouth and kisses his knuckles. “Move in with me. You’re right, it’s time.”

Jared smiles so wide his jaw starts to ache almost immediately. He jumps up and dashes behind Jensen’s chair, wrapping his arms around Jensen’s shoulders and peppering his neck and jaw with kisses. Jensen stands up, turns around, and cups Jared’s chin with his hand, bringing their lips together in a kiss that tastes of rosemary, thyme, Chardonnay, and the promise of a bright future together.


	15. Best Boyfriend Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen has issues separating work from play while Jared is moving in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The names are made up, but the patrons are real. In other words: this is a thing that happened today.

Jensen hefts a gray plastic bin from the back of Jared’s truck and groans. “What the hell is in here?”

“Books.” Jared picks up a milk crate full of TPBs and follows Jensen to the front door. Just as Jensen kicks it open, his phone rings. “What the hell?” He sets the box down on the floor and pulls out his phone. He slides his finger across the screen and barks, “What do you want?” He sighs explosively. “I didn’t answer my work phone because _I am not working this weekend._ This may come as a shock to you, but I _do_ have a personal life, and far more of it is rated triple X than you probably think.” 

He pauses, and after a moment bursts out laughing. “That’s officially the worst segue I have ever heard. That’s really what you’re calling me about?” Another long pause. “No, they did the right thing. Put the UOF in my box and I’ll call Jim when I get in on Tuesday. And if he shows up before that and does it again, hand him the policy and boot him. He’s out of warnings.” He nods and paces a few steps towards the door. “If he gives you any lip, hand him my card and tell him to call me after 1:00, but believe me, he’ll be hearing from us soon enough.” He nods again, and paces back to where he left the bin. “Yeah, I’ve gotta get them some candy or something. They went above and beyond, handling it themselves. I’ll see you Tuesday. Try not to burn the place down.” He ends the call and pockets his phone.

Jared raises an eyebrow. “What was _that_ about?”

Jensen picks up the bin and nods toward the stairs. “Tell you when we get up there.” They both carry their boxes up to the second bedroom that they’re using to store Jared’s stuff until they can sort it out. They stack the boxes on top of some others and take swigs out of the water bottles they left behind. “Apparently Osric and Felicia had to kick Chang out for looking at naked ladies again.” Jensen caps his water bottle. “He was at Computer 5, meaning that they could see everything he did _from behind the desk_ without even getting out of their chairs! Osric gave him a warning around 10:30, and then a patron with a little kid sat down beside him, and Felicia caught him looking at a naked lady with the kid _right there_. So she grabbed Osric from the back bathroom and said, ‘I saw nudity. He’s out.’ They were gonna wait for Mark, but Felicia said he didn’t give her any choice. They kicked him right then and there. He didn’t leave right away, though, so once Mark got there he escorted him out himself.”

“Holy shit.” Jared wipes his mouth on his shirt. “It just never ends for you guys, does it?”

Jensen scowls. “No, it fucking doesn’t.” He sighs and runs a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. “At least Kim said they had 16 people at the program today. They ran out of parking spaces again, so patrons were bitching.”

“Geez.” Jared gestures toward the door. “I think there’s only five more boxes left in the car.”

“How the hell did you fit all this stuff in your apartment?” Jensen follows Jared down the stairs. 

“Collapsible wire shelves,” answers Jared, shoving open the front door. “They’re folded up in the backseat.”

“Of course.” Jensen and Jared both grab big plastic bins and haul them inside. Jared doubles up on the next ones, and they manage to get the last three boxes inside in only one trip. Once they’re all upstairs, Jensen unfolds a butterfly chair and collapses into it. “Is it beer o’clock yet?”

Jared chuckles and pulls out his phone. “I’ll order the pizza, you get the beer.”

“But that requires _moving_.” Jensen reaches out and hooks a finger in Jared’s belt loop. He pulls Jared down to his knees and starts kiss-biting Jared’s neck just as the call connects.

“Yeah, I’d like to place an order for delivery?” Jensen’s teeth lightly graze Jared’s throat and he shivers involuntarily. “An order of cheesesticks, two large Ultimate Meats, one large The Works, and a double chocolate chip brownie. Yeah, it’ll be cash.” Jensen flutters his tongue over Jared’s pulse point and Jared tilts his head to give Jensen better access. “Half an hour? Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Jared ends the call and shoves the phone in his back pocket. Jensen’s hand follows his, but dips down inside his pants to tease at his hole. 

“Shit, I’m too tired for this,” groans Jared, as Jensen’s other hand unbuttons his jeans. “I thought you wanted beer?”

“I do,” replies Jensen. “I just want you _more_.”

“Can we at least move this to the bed?”

“Bitch, bitch, bitch.” Jensen pushes himself up out of the chair with some difficulty and hauls Jared to his feet. Jensen sheds his shirt once he gets inside his bedroom, so Jared follows suit. Jensen kicks off his sweatpants and boxers and pushes Jared up to the edge of the mattress. He plants both hands on Jared’s ass and slides them down to the middle of his thighs. Before Jared knows what’s happening, he’s flat on his back on the mattress with his knees on Jensen’s shoulders.

Jensen unzips Jared’s fly and shoves his jeans and boxers down just far enough to free Jared’s dick, which has gone from zero to sixty in the few seconds it took for Jensen to manhandle him. Fuck, that was hot. Jensen often teases Jared about his somewhat-fanatical workout routine, but Jensen’s apparently spending more time in the gym than he lets on, because they’ve been moving boxes for three hours and Jensen was still able to lift him up like it was nothing. 

Jensen wraps his lips around the head of Jared’s cock and flicks his tongue over the slit in a way that sends shivers up Jared’s spine. Jensen then runs the tip of his tongue around the underside of the head and it’s a damn good thing that Jared’s knees are supported on Jensen’s shoulders, because he’s sure they wouldn’t hold his weight right now. Jared digs his fingers into the mattress as Jensen teases the shaft of Jared’s dick with the tip of his tongue, which makes goosebumps rise on Jared’s skin. He drops his head back and squeezes his eyes shut as Jensen flutters his tongue and makes Jared see stars. 

Jensen presses a finger behind Jared’s balls and starts teasing them as well, and Jared knows he isn’t gonna last much longer. “Fuck,” he chokes out, voice strained from his exertions earlier. Jensen’s talented tongue makes its way back up to the head to tease at the precome dripping from the slit. When he flutters his tongue over the slit, Jared loses it. Jensen takes it all in like a champ, and when he brings his lips up to meet Jared’s, he still tastes of bitter salt. Jensen climbs up on the bed next to Jared without breaking the kiss, and he turns so that his knees are on the pillows and his head is level with Jared’s. Jared thrusts his tongue deeper into Jensen’s mouth until he’s licked every trace of himself clean. He breaks the kiss soon after, and both of them suck in air like dying men. 

“That was _hot_ ,” murmurs Jared, scooting up further on the bed and pulling his legs up onto the mattress.

“Damn right it was.” Jensen slides an arm around Jared’s shoulders and kisses the tip of his nose. “Food’s gonna be here in what, twenty minutes?”

Jared glances at Jensen’s alarm clock. “Yeah, just about.”

“So, beer time?”

“You want beer, get it yourself,” grumbles Jared.

Jensen pushes himself up on one elbow and then gives up. “Too tired for beer. We need a drone or something.”

“Put that on your Christmas list.”

Jensen laughs, but there’s no voice behind it. “I’ll do that.”

“You could just get a dog, you know.”

Jensen turns to face Jared. “Is that something you’d want to do?”

Jared’s taken aback. He thought he was just making a joke. “Yeah, it totally is. Why?”

Jensen kisses Jared’s forehead. “I saw all those posts you liked on Facebook, from the Humane Society. If you really want to adopt a dog, I’ll take you down on Monday to look.”

Jared throws a leg over Jensen and pushes himself up to face him. “Are you serious?”

Jensen nods. “Completely. If you want a dog, we’ll get a dog. We’ve got enough room here, and I know you really want one.”

Jared presses his lips to Jensen’s and kisses him as hard as he can. “You’re the best boyfriend ever.”

Jensen breaks the kiss and smirks. “I expect to be rewarded with sexual favors.”

Jared grins. “You got it.”


	16. Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen get a snow day. They spend it in bed.

“I’m so glad you live here now, because if you’d gotten snowed in at your old apartment, I would’ve cried. For real.” Jensen cards his fingers through Jared’s tangled bed hair.

Jared rolls over and looks through the half-open blinds to see a thick blanket of snow covering their driveway, the little bit of yard they have, their sidewalk, and the empty parking spaces across the street. The actual street itself has been plowed enough to get one car through, but that snow is piled up in front of all their driveways. Thank God their homeowner’s association payment goes to the crew that shovels the driveways, because they’re gonna earn their fucking money today. “Yeah, I’m really glad I’m here with you. We’re not going anywhere for a while.”

“I can’t believe Jeff waited until 8 o’clock last night to close the system, and didn’t even put in on social media until 11:00! Eleven o’clock at night, it finally goes up on Twitter. What the fuck.”

Jared groans. “It’s too damn early to talk about work.” He turns back over to face Jensen. “I can think of better things to do with that mouth.”

“Oh really?” Jensen brushes his lips against Jared’s jaw. “What did you have in mind?”

Jared meets Jensen’s lips with his own. He lightly traces the tip of his tongue along the seam of Jensen’s mouth, until Jensen parts his lips and lets Jared inside to sweep the last traces of the evening’s mulled wine from inside Jensen’s mouth. “Mmm, spicy,” murmurs Jared. “And sweet.”

“This is the best Tuesday morning I’ve ever had,” replies Jensen. “And it’s only 7:30.”

“Yeah, no work, no shoveling…” Jared’s voice drops down an octave. “No reason to leave this bed.”

“I was just thinking that,” purrs Jensen, sliding a hand down Jared’s belly to his cock, which is sporting a fairly impressive case of morning wood. “And you’re just rarin’ to go, aren’t you, baby?”

“Your mouth. My dick. _Now_ ,” growls Jared. “I promise to return the favor posthaste.”

“Ooh, busting out the big words this morning.” Jensen peppers Jared’s neck and sternum with fluttery little kisses. “Once a librarian, always a librarian.”

“You are the worst dirty talker in the known universe.”

“Maybe I should read _The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica_ , get some pointers.”

“We sent that out in delivery and it never came back, as far as I know,” replies Jared, grinning. “Maybe you should put a hold on it. With your staff account.”

Jensen throws his head back and laughs. “Do you have any idea what Osric or Briana would do if that hold came up on my staff account? I’d never hear the end of it!”

“Are you kidding? Osric would probably put it on hold for himself.”

“We’re talking about work again,” Jensen points out. “We are the fail at being horny gay men.”

“But we’re fucking awesome librarians,” replies Jared with a smirk. “We should try and convince Jeff to sign the new outreach van up for the Pride Parade.”

Jensen honest-to-God _cackles_. “Oh my God, I would _pay_ to see that! I might have to try, just to see what Jeff and Kim would say.” Jensen drops his head onto Jared’s chest, still chuckling, and vibrating Jared’s nipples in a surprisingly pleasurable way. “We are unforgivably nerdy.”

“Librarians through and through,” agrees Jared. He reaches down and wraps his long fingers around Jensen’s half-hard dick, giving it a couple of sensuous strokes and bringing it up to speed with Jared’s own massive hard-on. “But you’re gonna blow me now, and then we’re gonna get in the shower.”

“When did you get so bossy?” complains Jensen, but he pushes himself up and starts licking a trail from Jared’s navel down to the shaft of his dick. He laves a thick stripe down the top of Jared’s shaft to the tip and licks off a bead of precome.

“Since I moved in,” replies Jared, tangling his fingers in Jensen’s hair and holding his head in place over Jared’s painfully hard cock. Jensen slides the tip of his tongue around the underside of the head and then teases the slit some more. Jared drops his head back against the pillow and moans. “Yeah, babe, tha’ss it.”

Jensen closes his lips around the head and hums. Jared almost loses it right then and there, but forces himself to stay in control by reciting Dewey Decimal numbers in his head. 0-.01, Computer Science. .01-.02, Biography, .02-.03, Library Science, .03-.04, Encyclo—

Jensen flutters his tongue over Jared’s slit and Jared sees white sparks at the edge of his vision. Jensen turns his attention to the underside of the shaft, fluttering his tongue all the way down to the base and then behind Jared’s balls, and that’s it. Jared shoots his load all over the sheets and lets out a stuttering moan. Jensen’s head pops up and he grins wolfishly. “Okay, now I’ma strip the bed and meet you in the shower.”

“Gimme a minute, I don’t think my legs work yet.” Jared takes a few deep breaths and tries to slow his heart, which is currently jackhammering against his ribcage. “You’re a fuckin’ menace, you know that?”

“My tongue is legendary,” replies Jensen with a wicked smirk. “Admit it: you are in awe of my blowjob skills.”

“I’m in awe of your ego, that’s for sure,” replies Jared. He runs a hand through his sweaty hair and pushes himself up on his elbows. “You do that laundry thing you mentioned, and I’ll warm up the shower.”

Jensen tosses off a mock salute. “Yes, sir.” He shoves Jared toward the end of the bed. “Can’t take sheets off while you’re on ‘em.”

Jared gets to his feet with some difficulty and staggers toward the bathroom. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Jensen cackles at that, too. “ _You’re_ too old? I’m a fucking _decade_ older than you.” 

“No, you’re not,” retorts Jared. “You’re six years older than me. That’s only half a decade.”

“It feels like a fucking generation,” mutters Jensen. “You put holds on every single graphic novel we process. I read David Foster Wallace and Elena Ferrante for fun. You and I could not be more different.”

“And that’s why the sex is so fucking awesome!” replies Jared. “We’re opposites in pretty much every way except sexual orientation. We’re never gonna get bored.”

“Just get in the damn shower so I can wash the sheets?”

Jared leans against the wall outside Jensen’s—well, actually, _their_ —bedroom. “Comme tu veux.”

“Oh, you remember that.” Jensen strips the sheets off the bed with practiced ease. 

“I checked the Berlitz French course out from AFL,” says Jared. “Je t’aime, mon petit chou.”

“Embrasse-moi, ma puce.” Jensen kisses Jared on the lips as he reaches for the closet door behind him. “Je voudrais faire un câlin. Mais, après la douche.” 

“You want to do…something…after we shower?”

Jensen smiles. “Not bad. _Faire un câlin_ is cuddle. But we can totally fuck first.”

“You’re so generous.” Jared slaps Jensen’s ass as he passes by with the dirty sheets. 

“Just turn on the fucking hot water already!” calls Jensen as he starts down the stairs. 

Jared goes into the bathroom and starts the shower. He’s got the water nice and hot by the time Jensen comes back up to join him. Jensen steps under the spray and moans out loud. “Tu es le meilleur.”

“I am the best?” Jared presses a kiss to the junction of Jensen’s neck and shoulder. “Merci beaucoup.”

“De rien.” Jensen wets his hair and then steps aside so Jared can do the same. They end up sharing the shampoo, but it takes Jared so much longer to rinse out his hair that Jensen gets impatient, seizing Jared’s free hand and guiding it to his dick.

“Ooh la la,” murmurs Jared, fisting Jensen’s hard length in his hand. “Someone’s impatient this morning.”

“T’as bien raison,” growls Jensen, grazing his teeth over Jared’s pulse point and thrusting further into Jared’s grip.

“What does that mean?”

“Damn right.” Jensen starts to suck a claiming mark onto Jared’s shoulder, and Jared responds by jacking Jensen roughly from shaft to head. Jensen groans and leans into the touch. “Ça c’est bien. Très, tres bien.” 

That doesn’t take any translation at all on Jared’s part: _very, very good_. He continues to jack Jensen’s hot, heavy cock until he can sense that Jensen’s getting close. Then he shoves Jensen up against the wall and wraps an arm across his chest, letting the hot water sluice down his back and into his ass crack. He pumps Jensen’s cock until Jensen shoots his load all over the shower wall and eases him through the aftershocks. Then he draws back and lets Jensen clean himself off under the spray. 

Jared’s feeling a little endorphin-high himself, and he grabs a washcloth from the bar and soaps them both up with Jensen’s Old Spice body wash. They both rinse off under the water until Jensen shuts off the spray. He hands Jared a clean blue towel and takes another one for himself. 

They both dry off and hang the wet towels back on the towel bar. Then they brush their teeth, sharing the small vanity sink by pressing their hips and thighs together to fit in the space. Jensen dries his hair with a smaller towel and then offers it to Jared, who ends up soaking it through with all the excess water from his chestnut mane. Jensen shakes his head and hangs it over the shower curtain rod. 

“Breakfast?” asks Jensen. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“What’s on the menu?”

“I’ve got eggs, ham, cheese, and bread. Omelets and toast okay?”

“Sounds great,” says Jared, following Jensen into the bedroom to throw on a robe and slippers. “I’m gonna check my email and then I’ll be down.”

His email is pretty much empty except for a class assignment from Samantha, so Jared accepts it and then heads down to the kitchen, which smells so much like Jared’s childhood home that he’s momentarily transplanted back to his kitchen in San Antonio, banging on pots and waiting for his mom to finish grilling his hot ham ‘n cheese sandwich and tomato soup. It’s not a terribly sexy image, but it’s comforting.

Jensen turns around when he hears Jared’s plodding footsteps. “Yours is almost ready. Go hit the button on the toaster oven?”

Jared does as he’s told and the toaster oven timer starts ticking. Jensen plates a beautiful-looking omelet just as the timer starts beeping so Shirley Jared mistakes it for the smoke detector. “Holy shit, that’s the toaster oven?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of obnoxious,” replies Jensen, handing Jared the omelet and opening the toaster oven door. He grabs the sourdough toast with tongs and throws it on a paper plate, which he carries to the table himself. He sets the plate down next to a butter dish and silverware, and Jared places his omelet plate on the placemat. “Thanks for this,” he says, pressing a quick kiss to Jensen’s jaw.

Jensen grins. “De rien, mon coeur.” He kisses Jared’s cheek and heads back to the stove to start his own omelet. Jared takes his time with his toast so he can wait for Jensen to join him at the table.

Jensen brings his own omelet and plate of toast over and steals the butter from Jared’s side. “You could’ve asked,” says Jared.

“Less fun.” Jensen grins and slathers his toast in butter. 

“I don’t know how you manage to fit in your pants if this is the way you eat at home.”

“Only today,” replies Jensen, smirking, “because I know I’m gonna work it off later.”

“Oh, do you now?” Jared takes a bite of his omelet. It’s really damn good, and Jared is even more convinced that moving in with Jensen is the best thing he could’ve done. “Again, you could at least ask.”

“You plannin’ to hold out on me?” Jensen quirks an eyebrow.

“I should,” says Jared, spearing a piece of ham, “but I won’t.”

“That’s my boy.” Jensen takes a bite of his own omelet. “I should’ve gotten some fresh cheddar at the store. This is a little bit stale.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” Jared takes an experimental bite. It tastes utterly fantastic to him. “Maybe you just have ridiculously high standards.”

“Well, I date _you_ , so how high can they be?”

Jared throws his napkin at Jensen. “You’re in quite a mood this morning.”

“I don’t have to deal with patrons this morning,” counters Jensen. “I’m over the fucking moon about that. No Carletta, no Chang…I’ve earned a fucking break.”

“Yeah, you have been pretty stressed lately.” Jared finishes his omelet and starts on his last piece of toast. “I hereby declare this house a library-free zone. No more talking about work until the day we go back.” Jared glances out the back door at the thick wall of white. “And it’s looking like that might be even further in the future, if this doesn’t slow down soon. There’s gotta be a foot on the ground already.”

“They said one to two inches an hour, and it started snowing around eight last night,” says Jensen. “That’s almost twelve hours, so twelve inches sounds about right.”

“I’m just glad we don’t have to shovel it.”

“A-fucking-men,” says Jensen with a smile. “That’s what I pay the big bucks to the homeowner’s association for. I don’t know when they’ll come by, but it’ll be before the end of the day.”

Jared smiles back. “I love your house.”

“I love having _you_ in my house.” Jensen reaches over and places a hand on Jared’s knee. “Now, finish up so we can spend the rest of our well-deserved day off in bed.”

Conversation is put on hold while they both finish eating. Jensen collects the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher, then puts a few beers in the fridge to chill. After that, he extends a hand to Jared. “Allons-y, mon coeur.”

“Oui, mon cheri.” Jared follows Jensen up the stairs to the bedroom and helps him put clean sheets on the bed. Then he reaches into the nightstand drawer for the condoms and lube he knows Jensen keeps there, plus a little surprise he stashed there yesterday.

Jensen stretches out on the clean cornflower blue sheets that do wondrous things for his green eyes and freckle-dusted alabaster skin. Jared takes advantage of his drowsy, sated state to clasp one cuff around his left wrist, wind the chain through the headboard slats, and fasten the other cuff around his right wrist. Jensen’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and his eyes widen enough to see that, despite his obvious confusion, his pupils are blown wide with lust and excitement. “What the fuck?”

“Relax,” murmurs Jared, tracing a fingertip down the inside of Jensen’s arm to his elbow and then to his chest. “Just go with the flow.” He takes one of Jensen’s nipples between his lips and flicks his tongue over the sensitive bud until it stiffens under his ministrations. He lightly runs his tongue around the base and then flutters the tip of his tongue over the hard little bud, making Jensen growl deep in his throat. Jensen pulls at the cuffs, but they’re lined with fleece; they won’t leave bruises or friction burns. Jensen’s perfectly safe. He just doesn’t think so…yet.

Jared turns his attention to Jensen’s other nipple, coaxing it into hardness with strategic flicks of his tongue and light grazes with his teeth. Jensen’s moaning with abandon now, still straining against the bonds. “Jen, seriously, you gotta relax. It won’t be any fun if you don’t.” He brushes his lips feather-lightly over Jensen’s. “You’ve gotta give a little to gain a lot.”

“Now who’s the one not askin’?” hisses Jensen. 

“Don’t you trust me?” replies Jared, breathing hot and heavy over Jensen’s cheek. 

“You know I do,” answers Jensen quietly.

“Then just trust that I have your best interests at heart, and _surrender_.” Jared murmurs the last word right into Jensen’s ear, and the hot breath on sensitive skin raises goosebumps on Jensen’s arms and chest. Jared nips at the shell of Jensen’s ear and then sucks Jensen’s earlobe between his teeth. Jensen shivers, and Jared presses his chest to Jensen’s to warm him up. Jensen’s skin is cool and slightly clammy; Jared’s is flushed and heated from within. Jared slides a hand down Jensen’s side to his hip, and then rolls off to give himself better access to Jensen’s cock. “You want me to fuck you, babe? Split you open and lay you bare, till all you can do is scream my name? You wanna submit to my every desire?”

Jensen nods, eyes still dark with lust. “God, yes,” he hisses. “Fuck me, Jay. Fuck me so hard I forget my fuckin’ _name_.”

Jared smirks. “I can do that.” He squeezes lube onto his fingers and inserts one into Jensen’s hole. Jensen’s a little tight, but he relaxes quickly and lets Jared work his magic. Jared coats the ring of muscle with slippery lube in a slightly sloppier fashion than he’s used to, but he can sense that Jensen’s getting impatient. He adds a second finger, then a third in quick succession, and starts to scissor. Jensen’s panting and groaning, desperate for some relief from the tension. Jared covers Jensen’s protesting mouth with his own and kisses Jensen until he stops fussing and is forced to concentrate on just sucking in enough air to keep from suffocating. 

Jared opens the condom, but Jensen jerks his head up and knocks it out of his fingers with his chin. “You’re clean, I’m clean, we’re exclusive. Fuck it.”

Jared nods. “Comme tu veux, bébé,” He tosses the condom aside and coats his dick with lube instead. Then he positions his dick at Jensen’s entrance and eases in. Jensen gasps, but quickly adjusts to let Jared in. Jared pushes in as far as he dares and then pulls back. He starts to thrust, pressing his hands to Jensen’s shoulders for balance, and Jensen bucks his hips, forcing Jared in even deeper.  
“Hey, hey, calm down,” he whispers, his breath hot on Jensen’s cheek. “I’m in charge here. No fair muscling me out.”

“Nothing about this is fair,” barks Jensen, pulling at the bonds. He bucks his hips again and Jared’s cock slides past the ring of muscle to hit home. Jensen cries out with pleasure, finally giving up the little bit of control he’s fought for and letting Jared take the reins. Jared hits home again, but then draws back, wanting to stretch this experience out as long as Jensen will let him. It’s a lesson he feels Jensen needs to learn—he’s not the almighty Branch Librarian in the bedroom. In the sheets, he’s just Jensen, and he’s at Jared’s mercy. Jared’s the almighty in the here and now, and he intends to teach Jensen a very important lesson about submission.

Jensen’s panting breaths start to include a noticeable wheeze, and Jared decreases the intensity of his thrusts. “You okay, babe?”

“Never better,” gasps Jensen. “Keep going. I still know my name.”

Jared picks up the slack, slamming his engorged cock into Jensen’s slick, sturdy hole. He hits the sweet spot once, twice, and then a third time, and that’s it for Jensen. He comes like a fucking shotgun all over Jared’s abs. Jared speeds up his thrusts until his own orgasm crashes into him like a tsunami. He shoots his load into Jensen’s ass and pulls out with as much finesse as he can manage. He collapses on the bed next to Jensen and reaches for the handcuff key on the nightstand.

Jared unlocks the cuffs and Jensen immediately yanks his hands free. Jared sticks the empty cuffs in the drawer and watches as Jensen rubs circulation back into his abused wrists. They’re not red or bruised, though, just a little numb. Jensen tips his head back and struggles for breath, making the cords of his neck stand out. “Fuckin’ hell, that was hot.”

“You didn’t think that a minute ago,” Jared points out.

“I was delusional.” Jensen sucks in air and pushes himself up on one elbow, but he’s not upright for long before he sinks down onto Jared’s slick chest. “You were right. About everything. Is that what you wanna hear?”

Jared grins and kisses the top of Jensen’s head. “Indeed it is. You trust me now?”

“Implicitly.” Jensen kisses Jared’s jawline until he makes it to his lips, and then covers them with his own in a somewhat daunted display of affection. “You are a god among men.”

“Remember that the next time I tie you up and you wanna give me lip.”

Jensen nods solemnly. “I will, I promise.” His head falls back down onto the pillow and he rubs his free hand over Jared’s back. “Where did you learn that, anyway?”

“I ain’t tellin’ you!” Jared kisses Jensen’s forehead and slides an arm over his stomach. “Some things will just remain a mystery.”

“Until I get _The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica_ back.” Jensen’s breathing is somewhat close to normal, and he’s speaking full sentences with only one or two pauses. “Then I’m gonna learn all your secrets.”

“You’ll never learn _all_ my secrets,” insists Jared. “I’ve got moves you’ve never even dreamed of.”

“I look forward to finding out.” Jensen kisses Jared’s jaw. “Until then, you gonna keep tying me up till I listen to you?”

“Maybe,” says Jared. “Maybe not. You’ll never know, now, will you?”

“God, that’s hot.” Jensen pushes sweat-damp hair out of his face. “You’ve more than earned your Sexy Librarian badge.”

“Guess you’ve got some catching up to do,” replies Jared.

Jensen grins wickedly. “Yeah, I guess I do.”


	17. Clark + Lex = Clex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared introduces Jensen to Smallville, and somehow this carries over into their sex life.

“Want me to make lunch?” asks Jared when the end credits of _Smallville_ disappear and Hulu asks them if they’re still watching. It was Jared’s idea to binge-watch the first season while they’re stuck at home, and they’ve gotten through the first four episodes. Jensen seems to like it so far, but Jared had to ban him from talking because he was asking too many questions. 

“Depends. Are you gonna cook and mess up my kitchen, or are you just gonna make sandwiches and spare my pans?”

“I thought I’d heat up the leftover hamburger macaroni soup and make grilled cheese sandwiches,” answers Jared. “And I’ll scrub your stupid pan, God.”

“You better,” says Jensen. He picks up his coffee mug and heads for the kitchen. “Use the red skillet, not the cast-iron.”

“Okay.” Jared follows him into the kitchen and accepts the red skillet that Jensen hands him. “You are so uptight about your kitchen.”

“That’s because this isn’t a frat house,” replies Jensen, opening the refrigerator and handing Jared the sliced provolone cheese. “It’s a grown adult’s kitchen, and I expect you to act—and clean—accordingly.” He French presses another mug of coffee and sips it with those plump, sinful lips that Jared loves kissing so much, and it nearly makes him get hard right then and there. 

Jared opens the pantry door and pulls out half a loaf of seeded Italian bread. He sets out four slices and butters them with butter from the countertop butter dish. He puts two of them in the skillet, under which Jensen has turned up a small flame, and sets two slices of cheese on each. Then he covers them with another slice of bread and grabs a spatula from the drawer beside the stove. Jensen may be anal about his kitchen, but Jared knows he’s lousy at washing up and he’s got to work a lot harder to be up to Jensen’s standards of clean. 

He takes the leftover soup out of the fridge and puts it in the microwave. He flips the sandwiches and starts heating the soup. They both end up getting done at about the same time. Jared removes the soup and dishes it out in two of Jensen’s handmade stoneware soup mugs. He plates the sandwiches, cuts them, and calls Jensen to help him carry stuff.

“It smells great in here,” says Jensen. He picks up his soup mug and sandwich plate and carries both to the table. “You did good, kid.”

“Does that mean I get a reward later?”

Jensen smirks. “You wanna play Clark Kent and Lex Luthor?”

Jared laughs. “So you saw that too.”

“How could you miss it? It’s worse than _The Great Gatsby_ , for fuck’s sake.” Jensen takes a bite of his sandwich. “This isn’t half bad.”

Jared grins. “I’m not a total loser in the kitchen.”

“Good to know. Maybe I’ll have you make dinner a couple times a week,” replies Jensen, quirking an eyebrow.

“That’s a little drastic.” Jared dips his spoon into his soup. It’s his mom’s recipe, and Jensen made it even better by adding cannellini beans and Italian herbs. “Maybe once a week, to start.”

“Deal.” Jensen finishes the first half of his sandwich and turns his attention to the soup. “But I’ve got dinner tonight. I stocked up before the storm.”

“Oh really?” It’s Jared’s turn to quirk an eyebrow. “And when was this?”

“When you were doing Online Resources for Adults,” replies Jensen. “I went out to Karns for meat and poultry.”

“Huh. Get anything good?”

Jensen smirks. “You’ll see.” He starts on the second half of his sandwich. “Eat, and I’ll help you clean up.”

“And then it’s roleplay time?”

“Indeed.” 

Jared and Jensen both finish their food in silence. Jensen gets up first, rinsing his bowl and plate and putting both in the dishwasher. Jared was lucky to have running water at his old apartment, so he’s thrilled to have a dishwasher. He generally did dishes about once a week. Jensen doesn’t abide that shit.

Jared rinses his own dishes and sets them in the dishwasher, and Jared washes the soup tureen and skillet with Jensen’s citrus-scented dish soap and Scrub Daddy sponge. Jensen dries them both and replaces them in the cupboards. “So, you feelin’ heroic?”

Jared slaps Jensen’s ass. “Always.” 

They both head up the stairs to what Jared still considers to be Jensen’s bedroom, even though he sleeps in it seven nights out of seven. Jared doesn’t even have a bed in the room that he considers his, but he’s still reluctant to claim ownership of Jensen’s bedroom. There’s so much of Jensen’s stuff in there and so little of Jared’s that it doesn’t seem right for Jared to assert a claim to it. The majority of Jared’s possessions are still in the other bedroom. Only his TV and Amazon Fire box have made it downstairs so far, because his TV’s bigger and Jensen doesn’t have a set-top box—or a Netflix account. Jared nearly swallowed his tongue when he heard that. He vowed to drag Jensen kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. 

“You got a costume for this?” asks Jensen. 

“Smallville!Clark doesn’t wear a costume,” Jared points out.

“He wears red and blue,” counters Jensen.

Jared smirks. “And Lex is bald. Do I get to shave your head?”

“Touch my hair and die.” 

“That’s what I thought.” Jared grasps Jensen’s shoulders and turns him around so he’s facing the bedroom door, and then gently pushes him forward. “Just go in. I’ll be there in a second.”

Jensen shoots him a dubious look, but complies. Jared ducks into “his” room and grabs his Superman hoodie from the closet. He pulls his shirt and sweatpants off, leaving only boxers and the hoodie. He pulls the hood over his head and goes into Jensen’s bedroom.

Jensen’s sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed, looking lost. “What do I do?”

Jared stands by the dresser. “You pretend you’re driving.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and connects it to Jensen’s Echo. Then he calls up “Unstoppable,” the song that plays during the driving scene. “You see me, careen off the bridge, and I rescue you.”

Jensen plays along, turning an imaginary steering wheel. Jared moves to the bed, which Jensen takes as a cue, and then Jensen wrenches the imaginary wheel and falls to the floor, eyes closed and holding his breath.

Jared kneels down and scoops him up. He lays him out on the bed with a delicate grace and unbuttons his pajama shirt, shoving it off his shoulders. He also strips off Jensen’s pajama pants and boxers. Jensen raises his eyebrows but doesn’t open his eyes. Jared crawls up on the bed beside him and tilts his chin up, pretending to prepare him for mouth-to-mouth. He covers Jensen’s mouth with his own and licks at the seam of his closed lips, that plump, perfect Cupid's bow of a mouth. Jensen parts his lips and lets him in.

Jared thrusts his tongue into Jensen’s mouth and tangles it with Jensen’s own. Jensen responds, perhaps more than he should, but Jared doesn’t mind. Jared kisses him like a man possessed, and their tongues twirl like can-can dancers, swift and precise.

Jared spreads Jensen’s legs and steps up in between them. “You okay?” he barks, improvising his dialogue.

“You saved me,” says Jensen, a wondrous lilt to his voice. “Why did you do that?”

“Because you needed to be saved.” Jared reaches down and grasps Jensen’s half-hard cock between his long, nimble fingers. He jacks Jensen lazily a few times, but Jensen’s already fully hard. He reaches for the nightstand drawer and retrieves the lube. After squeezing a generous amount on his fingers, he starts to prep Jensen.

“I don’t deserve it,” breathes Jensen. “You should’ve let me die.”

“I see something in you,” replies Jared, thrusting one slick finger into Jensen’s hot, tight hole. “You deserve a second chance. I’m giving you one.”

“I’m not worthy,” protests Jensen, his voice choked with need and desire.

“Yes, you are,” replies Jared, adding a second finger. “You’re going to do great things. You just need a chance to escape your father’s shadow.” 

Jensen sucks in a sharp breath as Jared starts to scissor his fingers. “What do you know? You’re just a kid.”

“I’m more than I seem,” breathes Jared, adding a third finger. “You have no idea.”

“I guess I don’t,” says Jensen. He bucks his hips, pushing Jared’s fingers past the ring of muscle. “But I’m ready to find out.” 

Jared withdraws his fingers and inserts his dick instead. Jensen goes silent, breathing through the apparent burn, but Jared presses on, knowing that Jensen gets off on this. “Still think you’re ready?”

“Definitely,” gasps Jensen. He tightens around Jared’s dick, and it’s all Jared can do to keep pushing forward, past the ring of muscle into the sweet spot. Jensen cries out and Jared draws back, worried that he’s pushed the boundaries too early. But Jensen bucks his hips again, pushing Jared further in. “I’m yours. Always.”

Jared pulls back and starts to thrust with a furious rhythm. Jensen moans, long and loud, and Jared’s glad they don’t have close neighbors the way the condos across the street do. “Yeah, babe, just li’ tha-”

“You’re so strong,” murmurs Jensen.

Jared fucks him as hard as he dares. He can tell Jensen’s fighting to stay loose and relaxed. He softens his approach, but Jensen just bucks his hips and invites him further in. “Take me. I’m yours. Now and forever.”

Jared hits the sweet spot once, twice, and on the third time, Jensen shoots his load all over Jared’s abs. Jared hits home a couple more times and achieves his own release. He pulls out and barely manages to crawl on the bed next to Jensen with his jelly legs. He nestles his head into the curve of Jensen’s neck and gasps for breath against Jensen’s neck, raising goosebumps on Jensen’s skin. “Holy fuck, that was hot,” he breathes, letting his eyes fall closed in an attempt to conserve energy.

“Yeah,” whispers Jensen. He turns over and rakes a hand through Jared’s sweat-soaked hair. “You’re fuckin’ awesome.”

“Can’t do it without’cha,” mutters Jared, still fighting for breath. 

Jensen pushes Jared onto his back and supports his head with pillows. “I love you,” he purrs into Jared’s ear.

“Love you too,” Jared chokes out, still struggling to breathe. 

Jensen pushes himself up on one elbow and smiles softly. “Next time, I get to be Clark.”

Jared tangles his fingers in Jensen’s short spikes. “It’s a deal.”


	18. Désolé

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared misbehaves during dinner. Jensen teaches him a lesson.

Jared looks down at the plate with wide, slightly horrified eyes. “What the hell is this?”

Jensen smacks his ass and sits down in his chair. “It’s Pennsylvania Dutch chicken and waffles, and it’s fucking amazing.” He picks up his fork and knife and starts to cut into the waffle, which is covered with shredded chicken and thick chicken gravy. “This is the greatest comfort food ever.”

Jared pokes at his waffle with his fork. It smells pretty great, like homemade chicken soup, so he cuts into the waffle and takes a tentative bite. 

Holy shit, Jensen was right. This shit is _awesome_. Jared quickly cuts up the rest of the waffle and digs in. Jensen grins in between bites of his own. “See, I told you.”

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” replies Jared, not bothering to swallow before he speaks. It’s like the inside of chicken pot pie spread all over a fluffy waffle instead of flaky crust, and Jared’s instantly addicted. “Where’d you find this recipe?”

“Kline’s old supervisor, Traci, made it for our Christmas party one year. Her church always did a chicken and waffles fundraiser that she helped with, so she could pretty much make it in her sleep. She got us all hooked.”

Jared hastily swallows another bite. “And I’m damn glad she did. C’est fantastique.”

“Merci beaucoup.” Jensen sips the hard ginger ale that Jared’s boss Samantha gave him as a housewarming present. “This isn’t bad either.”

Jared can’t be bothered to stop eating long enough to try it. He’s dismayed to see that he’s only got one bite left. Jensen laughs and stands up, and Jared notices that Jensen’s plate is empty as well. “I’ll put some more waffles in. I’ll even give you the first one.” He picks up Jared’s plate with the hand that’s not holding his own.

“I will totally make it up to you,” promises Jared, taking a sip of the hard soda. It actually is pretty good, so he finishes half the bottle before Jensen comes back with a full plate. Jared ends up halfway finished before Jensen even gets to sit down.

“You’re gonna want a third waffle, aren’t you?” says Jensen, sounding dismayed.

“And possibly a fourth,” mutters Jared around a mouthful of food.

“God, were you raised in a barn?” Jensen hands him a napkin. “Chew, swallow, _then_ talk.”

Jared bolts down a huge mouthful of food. “Okay, _Dad_.”

Jensen kicks him firmly under the table. “If you’re gonna act like a five-year-old, I’m gonna have to treat you like one.”

Jared frowns. “What does that mean?”

Jensen grins wolfishly. “It means you’re going in the cuffs this time.”

Jared raises an eyebrow. “If you manage to catch me, go right ahead.”

“Oh, so you’re gonna be difficult? After all I’ve done for you today?”

“Is it really fun for you if there’s no challenge?” retorts Jared.

Jensen narrows his eyes. “Vas-y, épate-nous.”

“What does that mean?”

Jensen smirks. “Bring it on.”

Jared does indeed get his fourth waffle, which he eats while Jensen cleans up all the dishes. Jensen takes Jared’s practically licked-clean plate and rinses it off before putting it in the dishwasher, then seizes Jared’s wrist before Jared even knows what’s happening. He pulls Jared’s arm up over his shoulder and then hoists Jared up in a fireman’s carry. “Fuck!” Jared shouts as Jensen moves towards the stairs.

Jared can’t believe that Jensen manages to carry him up the entire flight of stairs to the bedroom, but he does, and he throws Jared down on the bed hard enough to bounce off the mattress. Then he throws open the nightstand drawer and locks the cuffs around Jared’s wrists before Jared even has a chance to catch his breath. He’s totally, painfully hard right now, which Jensen doesn’t miss. 

Jensen strips off his pajama pants in one smooth stroke and throws them aside. Then he reaches back into the nightstand drawer, and Jared assumes he’s going for the lube, but instead, he pulls out a utility knife and fucking cuts Jared’s white wifebeater right off his body. Jared’s eyebrows shoot up to his fucking hairline. “Jesus,” he hisses. ‘You’re a fuckin’ animal.”

Jensen tosses the knife back in the drawer and manipulates Jared’s hips until he’s lying on his side. “Someone was deliberately immature during dinner,” says Jensen in a low, husky voice. “And someone needs to learn his lesson.”

Jared has never been as turned on as he is right now. He never thought that Jensen would turn the tables so thoroughly. But when Jensen’s flat hand strikes Jared’s ass cheek hard enough to bruise, Jared nearly shoots his load right there. Dom!Jensen is the fucking sexiest thing Jared’s ever encountered.

“You gonna apologize for being so childish? Talking with your mouth open, sassing me? You sorry now?” He smacks Jared’s other ass cheek with considerable force.

“I’m sorry!” cries Jared. “I’ll never do it again!”

Jensen glares death at him. “You better not.” He slaps Jared’s ass again, but not punishingly so. This one’s more like a warning. “You will behave at my table, or I’ll treat you like the child you act like. D’accord?”

“Je suis désolé! D’accord!” moans Jared. Jensen spreads a hand over Jared’s hip and repositions him to lie flat on the mattress. Jared’s bruised ass stings when it makes contact with the microfiber sheets, even though they’re really soft. Jensen’s kind of fussy when it comes to bedding. 

Jensen reaches into the nightstand drawer again, this time for lube. He squeezes it onto his fingers and begins to prep Jared. “You gonna behave for me now?”

“Always,” gasps Jared. “I get the point.”

“You always were a fast learner,” purrs Jensen, sliding one slick finger into Jared’s hole. Jared forces himself to breathe through the overstimulation. Jensen’s dom act has really thrown him for a loop. He never expected that kind of behavior from Jensen, but Jensen is a business manager in addition to a librarian. He’s probably been studying. Hell, maybe he even managed to acquire _The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica._. He’s a pretty hands-on Branch Librarian, he could’ve snagged it from the delivery and checked it in himself, and Mark would’ve checked it out for him without any lip.

Jensen adds a second finger and Jared breathes through the burn. He’s completely off balance tonight. He never expected Jensen to go all alpha-male on him, but it’s hellaciously hot. He’s enjoying every second of it, which he’s sure Jensen is aware of, because Jensen’s currently teasing Jared’s dick with his free hand, circling the sensitive underside of the head with one fingertip and plucking a bead of precome from the slit. He licks that off his finger and Jared has to bite his lip to keep from losing it. Jensen smirks. “Salty.”

“God, just do it,” groans Jared, bucking his hips so Jensen’s fingers stretch even further, beyond the ring of muscle. “

“En temps voulu,” purrs Jensen, which Jared translates to “in good time.” Motherfucker.

Jensen adds a third finger and starts to scissor. Jared pants, barely able to catch his breath, as Jensen brings him right up to the fucking edge and then backs off like a fucking cocktease. “Come the fuck on!” grumbles Jared.

Jensen’s eyes go dark. “You sassin’ me?”

Jared shakes his head so hard his hair falls over his eyes. “No, sir. Not at all.”

“Good.” Jensen withdraws his fingers and coats his flushed, rigid dick with lube. He eases into Jared’s waiting hole with the utmost care, such a contrast to his dom demeanor. He’s clearly concerned about going too far.

Jared thrusts his hips forward, forcing Jensen past the ring of muscle, and Jensen immediately pulls back. But he pushes right back in and establishes a fairly exhausting rhythm. Jared knows he’s not gonna last long, and Jensen obviously senses that. Jensen pounds him for all he’s worth for a few excruciating minutes before Jared loses it and shoots his load like a cannon all over Jensen’s abs. Jensen only has to take about a dozen more thrusts before he comes as well, coating Jared’s hole with spunk. 

Jensen pulls out slowly, showing far more affection than he has before now, and grabs a hand towel from the lower drawer of the nightstand to clean them up. He gently wipes Jared’s ass and then removes Jared’s come from his stomach. Then he unlocks the cuffs and kisses both of Jared’s numb, aching wrists. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Jared shakes his head. “No, you didn’t.” He presses his lips to Jensen’s briefly, just long enough to show his gratitude. “You were awesome.”

Jensen blushes bright red. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

Jared kisses both his bright red cheeks. “You’re a natural.”

Jensen quirks one eyebrow. “Really?”

“Couldn’t have done it better myself,” Jared assures him, nestling his head in the space between Jensen’s neck and shoulder. 

“Well, you were my inspiration.” Jensen kisses the top of Jared’s head. “So that means a lot, coming from you.”

“I promise, I’ll never talk with my mouth full again.”

Jensen chuckles. “Then I’ve done my job.”


	19. Toujours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen unwind at home. No toys, no barriers, just the two of them.

“Hey, y’all done yet?” asks Jared when Jensen picks up the phone. 

“Still cleaning up,” replies Jensen, his voice a little tinny, meaning he’s got Jared on speaker. “I’m in my office. Give me another twenty minutes and I’ll be home.”

Jared grins. “Well, I’ll be waitin’.”

“I hope you’re cooking, because I’m all cooked out. Between breakfast and lunch for ten people, I’m all tapped out.”

“I ordered pizza,” Jared tells him. “It should get here the same time you do.”

“You take such good care of me,” says Jensen, and Jared can practically hear the smile in his voice. 

Jared smiles too. “And I always will.”

“I love you, you gigantic sap.”

“Je t’aime aussi, mon coeur.”

“Je t’aime davantage. À bientôt.” The call clicks off.

Jared looks up “davantage” on his translation app. It seems to mean “further,” so he guesses Jensen said “I love you more.” He grins and pockets his phone. 

The pizza actually arrives before Jensen does, so Jared pays the driver and then takes everything into the dining room. He’s already got plates and bottles of black cherry hard cider set out, so he opens all the sauce containers and props the boxes open. 

Luckily, Jensen comes in just a couple minutes later. “Sorry, I sat through the fucking Walmart light three times,” he grumbles, shoving his jacket into the coat closet. He dumps his laptop bag and briefcase on the ottoman and pulls Jared in for a kiss.

“You’re not late,” Jared assures him. “The food just got here a couple minutes ago.”

Jensen grins and takes his usual seat. “This looks great.” He grabs a couple of cheesesticks and a container of sauce. 

“Where’s your crock pot?” asks Jared before he bites into his cheesestick. He learned his lesson a couple weeks ago.

“I left it in the car,” answers Jensen. “I couldn’t carry everything. I’ll have to get it and the casserole pans later.”

Jared stands up. “I’ll go get them. You’ve worked hard enough.”

Jensen smiles softly. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” Jared goes out to Jensen’s car and retrieves the dishes. They’re a lot lighter than they were when Jared helped Jensen pack them this morning, so Jared’s former coworkers must’ve eaten pretty well. He knows Jensen made a breakfast sausage casserole with no eggs, since Briana’s allergic to them, and also classic Texas no-bean chili for lunch. Jared actually asked if he could go to Kline for Staff Enrichment Day instead of AFL, but Kim said no. 

The dishes are actually pretty clean, so Jared figures Jensen must’ve stored the leftovers at Kline. Jared just has to rinse and scrub the casserole dishes, which doesn’t take very long.

“T’es mon sauveur,” says Jensen when Jared returns to the table. 

Jared kisses him on the cheek before he sits down. “De rien, mon chéri.”

They eat in companionable silence, occasionally passing sauce cups or napkins back and forth. Once the boxes and cups are empty, Jared clears them away and stashes them in the garage for trash day. When he returns, Jensen’s standing at the foot of the stairs with his shirt and tie dangling from one hand and his chest completely bare. “Joignez-moi,” he purrs.

Jared frowns. “I don’t know that one.”

Jensen steps onto the first stair and extends a hand. “Join me.”

“Oh.” Jared feels kind of dumb. He takes Jensen’s hand and lets Jensen lead him up to the bedroom.

Jensen steps out of his pants as soon as they cross the threshold. “Alexa, play ‘Slow Jams’.”

“Starting ‘Slow Jams’ playlist,” chirps Alexa, and soon the room fills with the mellow sounds of Zero 7. 

“Now dim the lights to 30 percent.”

Alexa complies, and the room is bathed in a warm amber glow, just bright enough for them to see one another. It’s not even seven o’clock, but it’s been raining off and on all day, so the cloud cover makes it seem like night even though the sun won’t set for nearly an hour.

Jared sheds his flannel shirt and jeans and joins Jensen on the bed. “No toys tonight,” murmurs Jensen, tracing a finger down Jared’s sternum to his navel. “No barriers. Just your body and mine, au naturel.”

“D’accord.” Jared stretches out on his side and meets Jensen’s lips with his own. They kiss chastely for a long moment before Jensen presses the tip of his tongue against the seam of Jared’s lips to request entrance. Jared parts his lips and lets Jensen in. He tastes of garlic and spicy-sweet marinara sauce, and Jared imagines that he does as well. Their tongues twirl around one another as their lips seal together like magnets, until finally they’re forced to break the kiss to catch their breath.

Jensen’s head drops back, the cords of his neck standing out prominently as he struggles for breath. Jared licks a trail down one of those cords to the junction of Jensen’s neck and shoulder and then grazes his teeth over the sensitive skin there. Jensen wraps a hand around Jared’s neck and draws him in even closer, so Jared redoubles his efforts, sinking his teeth into Jensen’s flesh hard enough to bruise. He knows it’ll be well hidden under Jensen’s stuffy Branch Library wardrobe. Jensen wears a tie four days out of six. Hickeys below the neck are perfectly acceptable.

Jensen slides a hand down Jared’s back to his ass and dips one finger into his hole. “Impatient, aren’t you?” murmurs Jared.

“Not impatient,” replies Jensen. “Just intrigued.”

“You gonna follow that up with action, or are you just gonna tease?”

Jensen raises an eyebrow. “You sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?”

“Too kinky for you?”

Jensen huffs. “No such thing.” He pushes himself on one elbow and repositions himself at the end of the bed. Jared rolls onto his stomach and throws one arm up onto the pillow to rest his forehead on it.

Jensen slips one finger between Jared’s cheeks and traces a line down to Jared’s hole. He then adds another finger and pries the cheeks apart. Jared’s breath catches. He can’t believe that uptight, clean freak Jensen is actually going to rim him.

When Jensen’s cool and slightly dry tongue slides between Jared’s cheeks to tease at his hole, goosebumps rise on Jared’s skin and he has to struggle to avoid tensing up. He takes a few deep breaths and concentrates on relaxing enough for Jensen to work his magic. Jensen’s tongue journeys a little further, right up to the edge of Jared’s hole, and Jared bites his lip to keep from crying out and startling him.

Jensen gains confidence little by little, and once the music changes to Gavin DeGraw’s cover of “Let’s Get It On,” Jensen thrusts his tongue right into Jared’s hole and starts to flutter it over the super-sensitive tissue there. Jared moans out loud, stifling it a bit by biting down on his forearm. Jensen doesn’t seem fazed, though, and redoubles his efforts, flicking his tongue like a goddamn serpent right over Jared’s hypersensitzed hole. 

“Not gonna last much longer,” gasps Jared after another long moment.

Jensen takes that as his cue to back off, which is what Jared had intended. Jensen’s tongue eases out of Jared’s hole and he replaces it with one slick finger. “Make it quick,” he chokes out, and Jensen complies. He adds a second finger and starts to scissor, and adds a third only a few seconds later.

When Jensen finally starts to fuck Jared in earnest, he feels like he’s going to come apart. He’s just a huge bundle of jangling nerves, and it’s almost too much. Jensen fucks him with a smooth, sure rhythm, but Jared’s spinning out, barely able to contain himself in the face of such overstimulation. “Harder,” he moans, just wanting to come and get it over with so he can come back down to earth.

Jensen does as he asks and starts to pound him like a fucking professional. It’s not long before Jared realizes he’s about to lose it. “Gonna come,” he breathes, and Jensen backs off a little on the rhythm but thrusts in even deeper, hitting home numerous times in a row until Jared comes with a bitten-off shout. As he goes boneless, Jensen speeds up and achieves his own release within a matter of moments. He eases his now-softening cock out of Jared’s ass and collapses next to Jared.

“Holy fuck,” gasps Jared. “That was intense.”

Jensen grins as much as he can while still struggling for breath. “You liked that?”

“Loved it.” Jared hooks one leg over Jensen’s hip and presses their sweat-slick bodies together. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Je suis pleine des surprises,” murmurs Jensen, still breathing hard.

Jared frowns. “I am…something…of surprises?”

“Full of surprises,” replies Jensen, pressing his lips to Jared’s forehead. 

“Certainement,” says Jared, nestling his head in between Jensen’s neck and shoulder. “Tu es le meilleur.”

“T’es le meilleur copain.”

“I am the best…boyfriend?”

“Ouai.” Jensen kisses the crown of Jared’s head. “Toujours.”

“Always?”

Jensen nods, grinning. “Always and forever.”


	20. Striptease For Me, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared has a tough day at work. Jensen knows just how to make him feel better.

“Hey,” Jensen says quietly when Jared steps through the door. “How was your first solo class?”

Jared kicks his shoes off and heaves a huge sigh. “I was not prepared for patron-level computer illiteracy in one of my trainees. I have no idea why she was hired. She’s hopeless. She barely understands the different between left and right clicks.” He steps into his sheepskin slippers—a housewarming gift from Jensen—and locks the door.

Jensen’s eyes widen. “Are you gonna be able to train her?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Jared flops down on the couch next to Jensen, who immediately stretches an arm across Jared’s shoulders and pulls him close. “I might ask Samantha tomorrow what I should do if she doesn’t improve. I don’t know if they would rescind her job offer, but I’m thinking they probably should.”

“Wow.” Jensen rests his chin on top of Jared’s head. Jared buries his face even further into Jensen’s neck and takes a deep breath, relishing the spicy scent of Jensen’s cologne and the clean tang of laundry detergent and fabric softener. Jensen still smells amazing after seven and a half hours of work, which just isn’t fair. “I’m sorry it’s not going well.”

Jared shrugs. “It is what it is. How was your day?”

Jensen’s eyes widen. “You didn’t check your email before you left?”

“I forgot. Why?”

Jensen grins. “Because I banned Chang for a month, that’s why.”

“Just a month?”

Jensen’s grin slides into a smirk. “He has to meet with Jeff and me before I allow him to come back. And if he doesn’t show any signs of getting the message, we’ll ban him for another 6 months right on the spot.”

“Good for y’all. I can’t wait to read the letter.”

“Five times, total, we kicked him out before they let me ban him. Five. Fucking. Times.”

“Jesus.” Jared slumps against Jensen, totally drained. “Your day sounded so much better than mine.” 

“Well, there’s still time to turn it around.” Jensen kisses the crown of Jared’s head. “I’ve got lasagna and garlic bread in the oven. I wanted to reward you for making it through your first day as solo trainer.”

Jared has to smile at that. “Thank you. You take such good care of me.”

“And I always will.” Jensen extricates himself from Jared’s grip and stands up. “I’ve been chilling a 2011 Barolo all day. You want a glass?”

“Please.” Jared joins Jensen in the kitchen and accepts the generously filled wineglass that Jensen hands him. Jared knows he doesn’t appreciate wine the way Jensen does—Jensen can actually pick out “notes” of fruit and chocolate and shit like that—but it’s a nice, full-bodied red wine, and it’ll certainly ease Jared’s residual tension.

“Why don’t you go change and I’ll check on the food.” Jensen takes a sip of his own wine, a much smaller serving than Jared’s, and sets the glass aside.

Jared nods. “Sounds good.” He goes upstairs to the bedroom he’s just starting to think of as partially his and changes out of his button-down shirt and khakis in favor of flannel pants and a Penn State t-shirt.

When Jared returns to the kitchen, Jensen’s taking the pan of lasagna out of the oven. It smells amazing, all that cheese and garlic and oregano, and his mouth literally starts watering. 

Jensen holds out a basket of garlic bread and Jared carries it to the table. Jensen brings over two big plates of gooey, cheesy lasagna and Jared smiles from ear to ear. “Man, I needed this.”

Jensen takes his seat. “Yeah, I had a feeling.” He nudges Jared’s foot with his own and grins. “Enjoy it.”

Jared cuts a piece and takes a bite. He closes his eyes and moans with pleasure. He reaches over and covers Jensen’s hand with his own. “Amazing as ever,” he assures him.

Jensen beams and takes a bite from his own plate. “Needs more salt.”

“You are such a perfectionist.” Jared shoves another huge bite into his mouth.

“I have high standards.”

Jared swallows and takes a sip of wine before replying. “So I meet your ridiculously high standards?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No,” he answers, but he can’t hide a smile for long. “But I love you anyway.”

“Ha ha.” Jared lightly kicks Jensen under the table. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Jensen bats his eyelashes. “You think I’m cute, huh?”

“Well, not _now_ ,” replies Jared, but he’s grinning.

“Not all of us can be as ruggedly handsome as you, Paul Bunyan.” Jensen takes a piece of garlic bread and tears it in half. 

“Does that make you Babe the Blue Ox?”

Jensen snorts. “That’s where the analogy falls apart.”

“Well, you are quite a babe, Babe.” Jared grins and nudges Jensen’s knuckles with his own. 

Jensen smirks. “And I’m hung like an ox, obviously.”

Jared nearly chokes on his lasagna. “Yeah, keep dreamin’.”

“Just for that, you don’t get dessert.”

Jared quirks an eyebrow. “There’s dessert?”

“Well, there _was_ ,” replies Jensen. “You gotta earn it back.”

Jared picks up his empty plate. “Oh, I can do that,” he murmurs, sliding a hand down inside Jensen’s shirt and tweaking a nipple. He presses his lips to the side of Jensen’s neck and lightly grazes the freckled alabaster skin with his teeth. Jensen shivers and tilts his head back to give Jared better access. Jared lightly bites down, not hard enough to leave a bruise, and then laves the sting away with the tip of his tongue.

“Bedroom,” gasps Jensen. He starts to stand up, but Jared lightly holds him down and stacks Jensen’s empty plate on top of his with his free hand. He collects Jensen’s empty wineglass and takes both to the kitchen. He leaves the plates in the sink, but refills the wineglass. Jensen grabs Jared’s half-full glass from the table and heads for the stairs. Jared quickly follows suit. 

Once they’re upstairs, Jensen moves to loosen his tie, but Jared stills his hand. “Alexa, play ‘Striptease’ by Hawksley Workman, and dim the lights to 60 percent.”

Alexa does as she’s told, and Jared sits down on the foot of their bed. “Striptease for me, baby.”

Jensen smirks and unknots his tie, swaying his hips to the beat. He whips it off in one smooth motion, snapping it like a whip, and Jared goes from “mildly interested” to “half-hard and aching for more” in less than a second. Jensen slyly shimmies out of his sweater vest and pulls it over his head, making his hair stand up in unruly spikes. Jared sheds his own shirt and pants then, and he’s fully, painfully hard now. 

Jensen reaches for his wineglass and downs half of it before turning his attention to the buttons on his crisp white dress shirt. He flicks each one open with practiced ease, and Jared’s just about to tell him to slow it down when Jensen starts to ease the shirt off his freckled shoulders one drawn-out inch at a time. It seems like hours before the thick swells of Jensen’s biceps are uncovered, and Jared finds his mouth watering again as Jensen exposes his nipples, grazing them lightly with his fingernails to perk them up. “Jesus,” Jared hisses.

It seems like another hour before Jensen exposes his perfectly cut six-pack and tosses the shirt aside. He reaches for his belt buckle, and Jared finds himself licking his lips in anticipation. He thumbs a bead of precome off the head of his cock. “Fuckin’ tease.”

Jensen cocks an eyebrow. “You asked for it.” He whips his belt off with an audible snap and drops it on the floor. He reaches for his zipper and Jared can’t fucking take it anymore. He surges forward and shoves Jensen’s pants and boxer-briefs off his hips, then lifts him clean off the floor and out of them. Jensen lets out a surprised squawk and wraps his arms around Jared’s shoulders as Jared heaves him over to the bed and throws him down hard enough to bounce. 

“Jesus fuck!” sputters Jensen as Jared straddles his hips and leans over him to retrieve the lube from the nightstand drawer. Jared shoves Jensen’s knees up onto his shoulders and squirts lube onto his already sweat-slick fingers. He presses one into Jensen’s hole with no warning and Jensen yelps. Jared covers Jensen’s mouth with his own and thrusts his tongue between Jensen’s lips to collect his objections. 

Jared adds a second finger in a matter of seconds. He can’t wait any fucking longer. Jensen’s still and quiet beneath him, enough that Jared starts to get concerned. “This okay?” he murmurs, looking right into Jensen’s eyes.

Jensen nods. “Yeah, yeah. Just—yeah.” He bites his lip. 

Jared adds a third finger and starts to scissor. Jensen’s letting out these little breathy moans of pleasure, so Jared stops feeling guilty and just concentrates on getting both of them off as fast as possible.

Jared presses his cockhead to Jensen’s hole and eases in. Once Jensen is nice and relaxed for him, he starts to thrust, setting a rhythm that’s just barely on the right side of the pleasantly/punishingly hard divide. Jensen’s ivory skin glistens with sweat in the low light, and his cheeks are as red as the wine. He throws his head back, struggling for breath, and Jared backs off a little. 

“I’m gonna—I’m gonna—” Jensen can’t seem to finish the thought, so Jared finishes it for him by hitting home enough times to make Jensen come. Jared’s not far behind, and his own orgasm crashes over him hard enough to make his knees go weak. He barely manages to pull out before he collapses next to Jensen, chest heaving so hard it’s almost painful. For a long moment they both just lie there and attempt to catch their breath. It doesn’t come easy for either of them.

“So, did I earn my dessert?” asks Jared with a smirk. “We certainly burned enough calories.”

“Doesn’t seem wise to deny you _anything_ ,” replies Jensen, kissing the curve of Jared’s jaw. “So yeah, I guess you did.”

“I’m not sure my legs will support me long enough to get to the dining room,” complains Jared. “It’s been a long fucking day.”

Jensen cards his fingers through Jared’s damp hair. “Bitch, bitch, bitch.” But he kisses Jared’s cheek and pushes himself up on one elbow. “I’ll bring it up, you big baby.”

Jared throws one arm over Jensen’s shoulder and pulls himself up to give Jensen a proper kiss. “I love you so much right now.”

Jensen grins and ruffles Jared’s hair. “I love you too, Paul Bunyan.”

“So be a good ox and cart me up some dessert,” teases Jared.

Jensen flips Jared’s hair into his face. “I’m pretty sure this hair makes _you_ the ox.” He shoves Jared onto his back. “That and the way you smell right now.”

“You love my musk. Admit it.” Jared reaches out and slaps Jensen’s ass.

“I love _you_.” Jensen pats Jared’s ankle and walks to the door.

Jared smiles. “Good enough.”


	21. Love at First Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen has a bad day. Jared has the perfect (furry) antidote.

Jared is nearly vibrating with excitement by the time Jensen opens the door, but he quickly sobers when he sees the look on Jensen’s face. “What happened?”

Jensen shoves the door closed and locks it. “Oh, nothing, just another fucking UOF.”

Jared’s eyes widen. “Two in two days? Shit.”

“Yeah.” Jensen collapses on the couch next to Jared. “Today it was a fight between two patrons, at least. No PSAs involved except for Briana trying and failing to break it up. Ultimately, Mark stepped in and separated them.”

Jared stretches an arm around Jensen’s shoulders and cuddles him close. “I have _the_ perfect antidote to a crappy day,” he whispers to Jensen, lips brushing over the shell of his ear.

Jensen shivers a little. “And what’s that?”

Jared pulls his phone out of his pocket and pulls up Petfinder. “We’re going to see a man about a dog.” He shows Jensen a photo of a gorgeous Aussie/golden mix. “This is Max. He’s housetrained, neutered, vaccinated, and needs to be in a male-only home with no kids and limited activity. He couldn’t be more perfect for us.”

A smile slowly spreads across Jensen’s face. “How old?”

“About 2 years,” answers Jared. “So we’ll have a nice long time with him.” He switches to Google Maps. “The rescue is in Dillsburg and we’re supposed to be there at seven, so we’ve got just enough time to stop at the mall for food first.”

Jensen stretches his arms and stands up. “Sounds good to me.” He pulls Jared to his feet and brings their lips together for a passionate kiss. “This is exactly what I needed today.”

They stop at the mall in Camp Hill for pho and teriyaki chicken before heading down Route 15 to Dillsburg. The rescue shelter is on the outskirts of town, and a guy in dusty jeans and a flannel shirt meets them at the door. “One of you must be Jared,” he says.

Jared steps forward. “I’m Jared. You’re Tahmoh?”

He nods and extends a hand. “Yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you.” He ushers them inside and takes them through a long corridor and out the back door to a large fenced-in yard. Max is lying on a patch of dandelion-dotted grass, and he moves to a sitting position when he sees them, but doesn’t wag his tail or give any other indication that he’s happy to see them. 

“He’s shy at first, but he warms up quickly,” Tahmoh tells them. He stops beside Max and pats his head and neck. “Max, this is Jared and—sorry, what was your name again? I know it was in the email, but…”

“It’s Jensen,” replies Jensen. Luckily, he doesn’t sound offended. 

Tahmoh kneels next to Max. “Jared and Jensen want to give you a forever home,” he says to Max in a quiet but cheerful voice. “They want to get to know you.” He stands up and motions them to come closer. “Talk to him a little. Let him make the first move. He will, I promise.”

Jared nods. “Hey, Max! I’m Jared, and this is my boyfriend, Jensen. We live in a townhouse with a big backyard for you to run around in. It doesn’t have a fence, so we’ll have to keep you on a lead.” He turns to Tahmoh. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, he’s good on a leash or lead,” answers Tahmoh. “He’s got some anxiety issues, but he’s not a flight risk. He doesn’t seem to go for fight or flight, he just tends to freeze up and whimper.”

“Poor thing,” murmurs Jared. He extends a hand toward Max, and Max tentatively takes a few steps forward and sniffs Jared’s hand extensively. Once he’s done, Jared cautiously pats his head and Max finally starts to wag his incredibly fluffy white tail. Jared beams. “Hey, buddy. What a good boy you are.”

Jensen stretches out a hand and Jared moves back to let Max examine Jensen. His tail wags even harder for Jensen than Jared, and Jensen enthusiastically scratches Max’s ears before kneeling down to let Max lick his face. Jensen’s grinning from ear to ear and laughing softly and Jared has never seen him look this carefree and happy.

“He really likes you,” Tahmoh says to Jensen, a hint of awe in his voice. “I’ve never seen him warm up to someone so fast.”

Jensen stands back up, but he’s still petting Max’s head and neck with one hand. “We have to have him,” he says, with a questioning glance to Jared. 

Jared grins and nods. “Yeah, we really do. It’s just us, no other pets or kids, and we live in a super-safe neighborhood. We’re perfect for him.”

Tahmoh smiles. “Yeah, I think you are.” He gestures toward the door to the shelter. “There’s some paperwork to fill out in the office, and you won’t be able to take him home until the check clears and you get the temporary dog license.”

“That’s fine,” says Jared. “We need a few days to pick up supplies, anyway.”

Tahmoh takes them to the shelter office to sign a bunch of forms and make out a check for the adoption fee. They’re given Max’s medical history and immunization records and a PA dog license application. “You can fill the whole thing out on the website and then print the temporary license to bring back here. We’ll make a copy of it and then he’ll be yours.”

Jared clasps Jensen’s hand and smiles. “We can’t wait.”

Jensen smiles back at him, green eyes sparkling with excitement. “Yeah, we really can’t.”

“Well, it’s Thursday, so we’ll deposit your check tomorrow afternoon and once it clears, we’ll call you to make arrangements for pickup.” Tahmoh stands up and shakes both their hands. “Congratulations. I think you guys are gonna make a great family for him.”

“We’ll do our best,” promises Jared.


	22. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen bring Max home from the shelter.

Jared parks his car—they decided to take his decade-old Toyota instead of Jensen’s Mercedes for obvious reasons—outside the shelter and cuts the ignition. “You ready?”

Jensen turns the folded blue leash over in his hands. “I’ve never had a dog before.”

“You’ll love it,” Jared assures him with confidence. “He already loves you, and according to Petfinder, he’s a real snugglebug, so I think it’s gonna go great.” He opens the door and gets out of the car. Jensen quickly follows suit. 

Tahmoh greets them at the door and ushers them in. Jared hands over the temporary dog license and Tahmoh takes them to the office to make a copy of it. Once that’s done, Tahmoh goes out to get Max. 

A few minutes later, Tahmoh brings Max into the office. Max’s eyes light up when he sees Jensen and Jared and his bushy white tail wags so hard it smacks against the doorframe. Jensen kneels down and lets Max give him kisses while he hooks the leash to Max’s collar. They’ve got a new collar and tag at home, along with food and water dishes, a matching plastic mat, a ground hook and lead for the backyard, gourmet food and treats, and toys of all varieties. Jensen even baked bone-shaped peanut butter and oatmeal dog biscuits. With all his issues, both of them agree that Max deserves to be spoiled rotten. 

“Do you guys have a harness for the car?”

Jared nods. “Not a full harness, because we figured he’d want to stick his head out the window, but we’ve got a safety strap that hooks to the seatbelt so he can’t go far.”

Tahmoh nods. “That sounds perfect.” He pets Max’s head as Jensen stands up and grips the leash tightly. “Good luck in your new home, buddy. I think you’re gonna love it there.”

Jared smiles. “We do, too.” 

They both shake Tahmoh’s hand before leaving the office and heading to their car. Max jumps right up into the backseat behind Jared and Jensen unhooks the leash so he can hook up the safety strap. They’re not gonna put the window down until they get off the highway, but they’re gonna take the long way home from Camp Hill so they can get off the highway and give Max some fresh air.

Jared retrieves a water bottle and a collapsible dish from the cupholder and offers some to Max, who slurps it all down enthusiastically enough that half of it splashes onto Jared’s hand and the beige fleece throw he covered the back seat upholstery with. Jared wipes most of it off on Max’s soft, silky head fur. Max doesn’t seem to mind, and he even gives Jared kisses before Jared shuts the door and climbs into the driver’s seat.

Jared hooks up his phone and restarts the classic rock playlist they were listening to on the way over. They don’t turn it up as loud this time, and Jared adjusts the balance to favor the front speakers over the back ones. 

“You ready to head home, Max?” Jensen asks brightly, craning his neck to look at Max in the backseat.

Max doesn’t vocalize anything, but the way he’s breathing with his mouth open makes him look like he’s smiling, so Jensen responds with a thousand-watt smile of his own. “That looks like a ‘yes’ to me.”

Jared backs the car out of the parking lot and points it toward Route 15. 

They get off the highway in Camp Hill and roll the window down as they drive through the center of town towards Lemoyne and then across the Market Street Bridge to downtown Harrisburg. The warm spring breeze ruffles Max’s fur as he stretches his neck out the window as far as the safety strap allows. Max sniffs the air with delight as they pass all sorts of ethnic restaurants along Market Street on their way through the city. 

“I know this is stupid, but will you take us down past Kline?”

Jared grins. It’s not like Max will understand that Kline is Jensen’s workplace, but he appreciates the impulse. “Sure.”

Jared turns off of Market Street onto 29th Street so they can drive past Kline. Jared turns into the parking lot and parks in front of the building. Jensen hops out and offers Max more water, which he happily slurps right up. “This is my home away from home,” he tells Max with a soft smile. “This is the place I’ll smell like every day when I come home.”

Jared chuckles. “Like hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, you mean?”

“Among other things I will not mention in polite company,” replies Jensen. He reaches over the seat and hands Jared the water bottle and folded-up dish with one hand while scratching Max’s ears with the other. 

Jensen returns to the front seat a few minutes later and they continue towards their townhouse with no other stops. Once they get there, Jensen disconnects the safety strap and clips the leash back on. Max jumps out of the car and eagerly follows Jared to the front door. 

“Here we are!” says Jensen. “Home sweet home.”

As soon as Jared closes the door behind Jensen and Max, Jensen lets Max off the leash and he immediately starts exploring the downstairs. Jensen hangs the leash on a hook that he mounted on the wall beside the door over the weekend. 

Max makes his way through the dining room into the kitchen. Jared grabs the tin of peanut butter biscuits and pulls one out. He walks around the breakfast bar to the mat where they’ve set up Max’s food and water dishes and breaks the treat in half, placing both halves in the food dish. Max surges to the dish and scarfs the treat up in a matter of seconds before licking the bowl completely clean of crumbs. Jensen laughs softly. “I’m glad he appreciates my efforts as much as you do,” he tells Jared, pulling him close for a gentle kiss. 

“This is it, right?” murmurs Jensen. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Max presses himself against both of their legs, and they both drop one hand down to pet him. “No,” replies Jared. “I don’t think it does.”


	23. Le Brasier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared brings lunch for Jensen, who's nervous about a job interview. The two then find themselves trapped in the break room by a huge fire. For the H/C Bingo prompt "fire."

Jared grabs the takeout bags from the passenger seat and heads through Kline’s back door. He’d love to surprise Jensen, but he doesn’t have a key to the kitchen, so he has to go to the workroom to get one and that’s going to give it away. He nods to Felicia, who’s hanging flyers on the bulletin board, and her face brightens when she recognizes him. “Hey, stranger! Where’ve you been?”

Jared shifts both bags to one hand so he can accept the hug she’s offering. “I had seven trainings last month and two outreaches. I’ve forgotten what the inside of my office looks like.”

“Well, at least you remembered the way here.” She picks up a stack of old flyers and opens the rear library door for him. “Is Jensen expecting you?”

Jared shakes his head. “I wanted it to be a surprise.” As he enters the library, he sees Jensen standing in Mark’s office doorway and motions to Osric, who’s sitting in the chair behind Jensen, to stay quiet. 

Jensen notices the movement, however, and turns to see Jared. A huge smile lights up his face as Jared approaches the circulation desk. “What are you doing here?”

Jared holds up the takeout bags. “I brought lunch. You’ve been so nervous about your interview this afternoon that I thought you could use a distraction.”

Jensen chuckles, but it sounds a little forced. “And now you’ve brought it up again. Thanks.” He grasps Jared’s free hand and pulls him in for a chaste kiss. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen in about ten minutes. Mark and I have some scheduling stuff to finish up.”

Jared reaches into the workroom to grab the kitchen key from the hook on the wall. “Don’t take too long or your dumplings’ll get cold.”

Jensen’s eyes widen. “Did you bring me a bento box?”

“Of course,” replies Jared with a grin.

“T’es le meilleur qui soit.” Jensen wraps one arm around Jared’s waist and kisses his cheek. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Can’t wait.” Jared pats Jensen’s back and heads for the kitchen.

When Jared leaves the circ area, he notices that the closet door is open. The light is on and the back door is propped open, but there isn’t anyone inside the closet. Jared figures Felicia or one of the Friends is out in the parking lot loading up donations, so he leaves the doors open and goes to the kitchen. 

Once all the food is set up, Jared pulls two plastic wine glasses out of the second bag and pours them both generous servings of sparkling cider. Jared hopes Jensen will arrive before the cider goes flat.

Jensen comes in a few minutes later and beams when he sees the spread on the small table. “Man, that looks amazing.” He steps behind Jared’s chair and squeezes both shoulders, then leans down and grazes his teeth over the pulse point in Jared’s neck. “Thank you.”

“C’est tout naturel.” Jared tilts his head so their lips meet. After a few seconds, Jared breaks the kiss and points to the food. “It’s getting cold. Eat.”

Jensen sits down in the other chair and opens his bento box. After he’s finished the dumplings and tuna roll, he sits back in his chair and picks up the glass of cider. “Isn’t this a little premature? I haven’t gotten the job yet.”

“You will.” Jared holds up his glass in a toast. “To the best Library Services Administrator candidate in the System. If Jeff and Kim don’t agree, they’re idiots.” He clinks his glass against Jensen’s. “Good luck, but I’m sure you don’t need it. You’re perfect for that job, and I know you’ll make them see that.”

Jensen takes a small sip of his cider. “I wish I could be as confident about it as you are.”

“Just go in there and be yourself. You’re already honest, straightforward, professional, and incredibly good at your job. If I can see that, I don’t know how they could miss it.”

Jensen shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “I think you’re a little biased.”

“I saw that _before_ I was dating you.”

Jensen raises an eyebrow. “You did?”

“Of course I did. Because it’s obvious.” Jared starts to say something else, but he’s interrupted by the fire alarm. As he breathes in, his nose is assaulted by the smell of smoke. Jensen puts down his chopsticks and stands up. “Do you smell smoke?”

“Yeah, I do.” Jared shouts over the shrill blaring of the fire alarm. Jensen’s closer to the door, but when he opens it, they see flames engulfing the wall across from them, less than five feet away. The fire extends all the way to the back door, making that exit inaccessible, and the flames are awfully close to the door to the circ area. 

Jensen coughs. “You think we can make it through that door?” He squats down, trying to avoid the thick black smoke.

Jared joins him. “I don’t think so. You think we could break the meeting room door down with that chair over there? That’s where the emergency exit is.”

Jensen looks at the flames. “I’m not sure I want to try it.” He gets up and motions for Jared to get behind the door. Jensen closes the door, but that doesn’t stop the smoke from streaming in. “The window. It’s the only way.”

Jared looks at it. “Isn’t that bulletproof glass?” Only city branches have bulletproof glass windows. The rest of the branches don’t need them.

Jensen grabs the chair he had been sitting in and gestures to the other one. “I don’t think we have any other choice.”

They both pound the window with the chairs until it finally gives way. Jensen wraps his hand in a towel and tries to clear the glass around the frame as best he can. The smoke is thicker now, and since they’re both standing up, they’re breathing in way too much of it. “We gotta go,” rasps Jensen.

Jensen climbs on the sink and turns to Jared. “Once I’m out, I’ll help you.” 

With his back to the window, Jensen stretches both feet out the window and Jared helps push him all the way out. They’re on the ground floor, so Jensen lands on his feet. Jared can see blood on his shirt, but they have bigger things to worry about right now. 

Jared climbs up on the sink and prepares to follow Jensen. He gets his legs and hips through the window frame, but there’s a sharp piece of glass sticking out of the frame that cuts his stomach. Jensen grabs onto Jared’s hips to support him and pulls him toward the parking lot. 

Jared’s shoulders get stuck between the frame. He starts shimmying from side to side, trying to slide out inch by inch. He can feel Jensen’s hands on the sides of his chest. “You can do it, just relax. I’ll get you out, Jay. I promise.” 

Jensen slides one hand between Jared’s right shoulder and the frame and eases Jared’s shoulder blade out. He manages to do the same for Jared’s left shoulder and Jared drops bonelessly to the ground. All he can think is that if Jensen hadn’t been there, he would’ve been trapped in there. He would have been caught in the fire, and he would’ve died. 

Jensen kneels down next to him. “Are you hurt?” he demands hoarsely, and Jared can barely hear him over the din of sirens and the fire alarm. It’s just so loud, and dark, and Jared can hear the blood rushing and his pulse pounding in his ears. It’s hard to breathe, and his vision is going gray around the edges.

Jensen lists Jared’s left arm over his shoulder, and just then Jared realizes that his shoulder hurts pretty fucking badly. Jensen hauls him to his feet like he’s fucking Batman and Jared is this week’s damsel in distress. “Come on, Jared. We’re almost there.”

Jensen props Jared against the parking lot guardrail and waves a hand wildly. “We need help here!” he yells, but he’s overcome with a coughing fit. Jared starts coughing as well, and when the darkness threatens to smother Jared’s world, Jared does nothing to stop it.


	24. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared and Jensen receive medical treatment at the hospital.

When Jared comes back to awareness, he’s moving. He opens his eyes to bright white light that hurts so badly he has to close them again. He can hear a muddle of voices, men and women both, barking things like “Pressure’s 98 over 70 and dropping,” and “We had to intubate on-scene to preserve the airway.” He sluggishly lifts a hand to his face and his fingers come into contact with cold, hard plastic over his nose and mouth—an oxygen mask. So if he’s not the one who was intubated, then that means… “Jensen?” 

He forces his eyes open, squinting against the too-bright light, and tries to turn his head to look for Jensen, but there’s an unfamiliar man in his line of sight who demands his attention. “Jared? That’s your name, right?” Jared nods sluggishly. “I’m Dr. Benedict, and you’re at Penn State Hershey Med Center. We’re in the ER at the moment, but once you’re stabilized you’ll be moved to a room upstairs.”

Jared closes weak, tingly fingers around the oxygen mask and pulls it up so he can talk. “Where’s Jensen?”

“Your colleague? He’s—”

“My partner,” Jared corrects him with as much force as he can muster. “I wanna see him.”

“Let me examine you first, and then I’ll see if I can track him down.” Dr. Benedict gently guides the mask back into place and pulls a penlight out of his pocket. “This might hurt a little,” he warns as he pulls up one of Jared’s eyelids and shines the light directly into his eye. It’s like looking directly into the sun, and Jared tries to bite back a groan of pain but can’t. Benedict does the other eye, which is just as bad, and Jared squeezes his eyes shut as soon as he’s allowed.

“Sorry about that,” says the doctor, sounding genuinely contrite. “Your eyes are irritated from the smoke, but there’s no burn damage on your corneas, so that should clear up in a day or two.” Jared tentatively opens his eyes again, and Benedict smiles sympathetically at him. “Okay, I need to look at your throat. I’m gonna take the mask off for just a minute, and it’s gonna be harder to breathe without it. Try not to cough, okay?”

Jared nods. Benedict removes the mask and shines the light down his throat. Jared holds back the coughs until Benedict replaces the mask. “Good job,” he says. “Can you sit up?”

Jared pushes himself up on one elbow and struggles into a sitting position. Both his shoulders hurt, and his hands are kind of tingly and half-numb. Benedict moves behind him and puts the stethoscope in his ears. “Deep breath.”

Jared breathes as deep as he can, which is only about half as deep as it should be. Benedict repeats the command, moving the stethoscope to different places on his back, and Jared only coughs when he’s all done. 

Benedict takes the stethoscope out of his ears and presses his fingers to Jared’s neck. “Does this hurt?” Jared shakes his head. 

Benedict looks closely at Jared’s shoulder blades. When he starts pressing down on Jared’s left shoulder, Jared can’t hold back a yelp of pain. It’s no better when Benedict repeats the process on the right side. “Well, you’re pretty bruised up back there, but I don’t think anything’s broken,” says the doctor. “I don’t think you need X-rays, but I’ll definitely order up some pain meds for that. Does anything else hurt?”

Jared considers the question. He hadn’t noticed until now that his head actually hurts just as much as his throat and shoulders do. He pulls the mask up enough to talk. “Bad headache.”

“Not surprising. Most smoke inhalation patients have at least a mild case of carbon monoxide poisoning.” Benedict grabs an iPad from a counter at the side of the room and taps on it. “A nurse will be by to start some IV pain meds and saline in a few minutes, and I’ll see what I can find out about your partner.” 

Jared sinks carefully back down on the exam bed. He feels tired and weak, but he doesn’t want to let himself succumb to it until he finds out how Jensen is. 

The nurse, a petite redhead in daisy-print scrubs, comes by to start his IV. After a few minutes, the pain starts to recede, but it gets even harder to keep his eyes open. 

“Jared?” Jared blinks. He must’ve fallen asleep. It’s a different doctor, this one a woman with a dark ponytail. “I’m Dr. Sampson, and I’ve been treating your partner, Jensen. He’s sedated at the moment, and we’re taking him to surgery to suction fluid out of his lungs and trachea with a bronchoscope. Once he’s in recovery, if it’s okay with Dr. Benedict, you’ll be able to see him.”

Jared pulls the mask up. “When will that be?”

“The procedure only takes about 30 minutes, but it’ll take an hour or two for all the anesthetic to wear off. Talking will be very difficult for him for the next few days, so try to keep two-way conversation to a minimum.”

Jared nods. “I just wanna be with him.”

“We’ll let you know when he gets to recovery. Until then, try to get some rest.”

Jared lets the mask slide back into place and nods. He’s asleep before Dr. Sampson even leaves the exam room.

* * *

This time when Jared wakes up, he’s lost the full face mask. His nose itches, and when he reaches up he finds that he’s been switched to a nasal cannula instead. That’s a relief. He’ll actually be able to talk to Jensen now. Not that Jensen can talk back, but temporary silence is far better than permanent silence.

The red-haired nurse comes back with a wheelchair. “You ready to head up to recovery?” she asks cheerfully.

“Definitely.” Jared pushes himself up and, with a lot of help from the nurse, he manages to get down off the exam bed and into the wheelchair. She gathers up the oxygen tank and IV bag and hooks them onto the chair.

The nurse puts a light blanket over his legs, and Jared suddenly notices that his clothes are completely gone and he’s wearing nothing but a hospital gown and his boxers. He’s grateful for the blanket; even though it’s 90 degrees outside, the hospital is freezing. For the first time, Jared starts to wonder what happened to his phone.

“What’s your name?” he asks the nurse as she pushes him through the ER corridors.

“Julie,” she answers. She stops the chair in front of an elevator and pushes the up button.

The elevator takes them to the third floor, and Julie pushes Jared through another maze of corridors until finally, she pulls aside a curtain to reveal Jensen lying on a bed with the same full oxygen mask that Jared had earlier. His red-rimmed eyes light up when he sees Jared and he waves to greet him.

“Hey, Jen,” says Jared, his voice shaking. Jensen’s pale as a ghost underneath the mask, his freckles standing out like ash on bone. His eyes are incredibly red, and Jared has to wonder if his own look the same. He’s got a thick bandage on one hand and Jared desperately wants to ask him what that’s about, but he knows Jensen can’t talk. “You okay, baby?”

Jensen nods. Julie pushes the chair right up to the side of the bed and Jared grabs Jensen’s un-bandaged hand and presses it to his cheek. “God, I was so scared. I woke up and you weren’t there.”

Jensen turns their hands so that Jared’s is on the bottom and then he traces the letters _s-o-r-r-y_ on Jared’s palm. Jared shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad you’re gonna be okay.”

Jensen traces more letters on Jared’s hand. _U o-k?_

“Yeah, I’m good.” Jared nods and points to his nasal cannula. “I graduated from the full mask already.”

_L-u-c-k-y_ , writes Jensen. 

“You’ll get there soon,” Jared assures him. “Just hang in there. I’ll be with you as much as I can.”

“Jensen’s going to be staying in the ICU tonight,” says Julie. “But as soon as he’s released to a regular unit, he can move in with you.”

“Why ICU?” asks Jared, frowning.

“He needs intensive monitoring,” answers Julie. “If the fluid levels get too high, he’ll need another bronchoscopy.”

Jensen shakes his head as hard as he can manage. It must’ve been pretty unpleasant, because Jensen seems determined to avoid it at all costs. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s not a sure thing. Just, try to relax, okay? You need to rest.”

“So do you,” says Julie pointedly. “You can have another five minutes and then I need to take you to your own room.”

Jared frowns. “I don’t want to leave him here by himself.” Jensen nods in agreement and clutches Jared’s hand. 

“I’ll be able to bring you down once Jensen gets settled in the ICU,” promises Julie. 

Jared shifts in his chair. “Can I hug him?”

“Just don’t pull out the IV, okay?” Julie helps Jared get up from the chair.

Jared gently wraps his arms around Jensen’s shoulders and holds him as tight as he dares. “I love you,” he whispers into Jensen’s ear. “You gotta get better so we can be together again. So do what they say and try not to give them a hard time, okay?”

Jensen nods against Jared’s cheek. Jared can still smell smoke underneath the chemical odor of antiseptic, and Jensen is tense and brittle in his arms. When Jared finally has to let him go, both their eyes are brimming with tears. “I love you so much,” murmurs Jared. “I’ll see you later.” Jensen nods and cards his fingers through Jared’s hair. They come out blackened with soot. 

Julie helps Jared back into the wheelchair. Then she gets an antibiotic wipe and cleans Jensen’s hand for him. “We gotta get you cleaned up,” she tells Jared. “I’ll have to check the orders and see if you’re allowed to shower. If not, I could probably at least let you wash your hair in the sink.”

“Sounds good to me,” says Jared. 

Jensen sadly waves goodbye to Jared as Julie wheels him out of the room. Jared waves back, swallowing hard to hold back the tears. 

While they’re waiting for the elevator, Jared turns around and gets Julie’s attention. “How come Jensen’s condition is worse than mine when he wasn’t even inside the building as long?”

“It’s possible Jensen’s lungs are just weaker than yours,” replies Julie. “Has he mentioned having bronchitis or pneumonia in the past?”

Jared shakes his head. “He never said anything if he did.”

“Could just be random chance, then.” The elevator doors open. This time, Julie takes him to the fourth floor.

About halfway down the hall, they stop and turn into a double room. “Here it is, your home sweet home for the next three days.”

Jared’s eyes widen. “Three days?”

“Barring further complications.” Julie helps him out of the chair and into the bed, which has a TV and a large tray bolted to the side. 

“I need my phone,” says Jared. “I have to find somebody to take care of our dog.”

“I’ll have to get it from downstairs.”

“Would you, please?”

She nods and leaves the room. Jared leans back against the pillow and lets his eyes fall closed. It’s been a long fucking day.


	25. One Blink for Yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared gets news from the outside world, and Jensen takes a turn for the worse.

After Jared’s finished arranging for his neighbor to feed and walk Max and for Felicia to come and house-sit/dog-sit until Jared and Jensen get home, he takes a short, much-needed nap. Once he wakes up, he calls Mark, who left three frantic voicemails on Jared’s phone when he couldn’t reach Jensen.

“Hey, Jared, how are you doing?” asks Mark. “And more importantly, how’s Jensen?”

“Jensen’s in the ICU,” says Jared flatly. “So whatever you need him for, it’s gonna have to wait a few days. At least.”

“Shit.” Mark takes a deep breath. “There’s a lot of administrative stuff that needs done for the insurance. I guess I’ll just have to see if Jim and Fred from Facilities can handle it.”

“Do they know what started it?”

“Not yet,” replies Mark. “They’re sure it started in the back closet and those sprinklers failed, which is how it was able to spread so far. There were a ton of donations back there, so all that old, dry paper went up in a flash. The fire police and city police are thinking it was deliberately set, though.”

Jared’s eyes widen. “Really? I mean, I saw that the closet was open before I went in the kitchen. I figured someone was working with donations, so I left it open.”

“Well, we’re still looking at the camera footage with the police, but they saw a couple of kids on the back door camera a few minutes before the flames become visible that they want to track down and question.”

Jared shakes his head. If it’s just a couple of kids making trouble, there’s almost no chance of recovering monetary damages, even if they charge them as adults. He just hopes the library system has good insurance. “How’s the building?”

“The closet and the bathroom are a total loss, and there’s a ton of smoke and sprinkler damage in the main circ area and offices. The back half of the building is gonna have to be rebuilt from the ground up.”

“Shit,” murmurs Jared. “How long is that gonna take?”

“Repairs alone would take at least three months,” answers Mark. “But now Jeff and Kim are talking about maybe starting a capital campaign for a whole new building like they did in Hummelstown.”

Jared snorts. “Do they really think they’re gonna get capital from patrons who live in the poorest zip code in Dauphin County? The average Kline patron can barely afford a two-dollar guest pass to the computers.”

“They’re not expecting the capital to come from Harrisburg City,” says Mark. “They’re gonna try to pull it from Paxtang and Swatara Township, and they’re talking about possibly moving it to a safer location in Paxtang or Rutherford.”

“Then what are the Allison Hill patrons gonna do when they can’t walk to Kline anymore?”

“Well, if they do move it into the suburbs, they’re gonna try to put it near the bus line.” 

Jared hears a noise, and looks up to see Julie with a wheelchair. “I gotta go, it’s time for me to visit Jensen.”

“Tell him he’s in our thoughts and prayers,” replies Mark. 

“Will do. Talk to you later.” Jared ends the call.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” says Julie.

Jared shakes his head. “You didn’t. I’d much rather talk to Jensen than him anyway.”

Julie helps him into the wheelchair and hooks the oxygen tank and IV bag onto it. “ICU visiting hours are almost over, so we gotta hustle.” She pushes him down the hall to the elevator. This time, they go to the second floor.

When they arrive at Jensen’s cubicle, Jared is horrified to see a thick plastic tube sticking out of Jensen’s mouth. “What the hell happened?”

“He was having trouble breathing, so they intubated him again,” says Julie in a low voice. “Putting him on the ventilator relieves the stress on his lungs and trachea.”

She pushes him to the side of the bed. “He’s lightly sedated, but he should be able to hear you.”

Jensen’s hand is still swathed in thick gauze, so Jared rests his hand on Jensen’s forearm and strokes the pale ivory skin with his thumb. “Hey, baby, I’ve got Debbie going over later to take care of Max, and Felicia’s gonna house-sit for us until we get out of here, so don’t worry about a thing. You just worry about getting better.” 

Jared’s voice breaks. “I can’t do this without you. I know it’s only been nine months since we got together, but I already can’t imagine my life without you. I need you. Max needs you.” He takes a deep, shaking breath. “Hell, Kline needs you. They’re gonna have to either relocate or rebuild, ‘cause half the building is a total loss. They need your vision. You made that place what it is. You’re their guiding light.” 

He squeezes Jensen’s arm. “You’re _my_ guiding light. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You can’t leave me, okay? You just can’t.”

Jared’s so busy wiping tears from his cheeks that he almost doesn’t notice Jensen’s eyes fluttering half-open. He leans in close. “Jensen? Baby, can you hear me?” 

Jensen closes his eyes, and Jared pulls back, thinking that it was just a fluke, but then Jensen opens them again, and Jared realizes what he’s doing. “One blink for yes, right?” Jensen closes his eyes briefly once more. 

Jared breaks into a huge grin. “Did you hear what I was saying before?” Jensen blinks once, slowly. “So you’re gonna get better, right?” Another slow blink. 

Tears stream down Jared’s cheeks and soak into his hospital gown. “I love you so much, Jen.”

Jensen blinks twice, and Jared instinctively knows that it means _I love you, too_. “I know you do. I’ve never doubted it.”

Julie clears her throat. “Visiting hours are over, Jared.”

Jared sniffles. “I gotta go, baby, but I’ll see you again as soon as they let me. You keep fighting, you hear me? You gotta come back to me.”

Jensen blinks firmly. Jared rubs Jensen’s arm and presses a small kiss to the largest freckle he can see. Jensen blinks twice and then lets his eyes flutter closed. 

“I love you, too,” whispers Jared. “Good night.”


	26. I'll Be Right Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared goes to see Jensen in the ICU. Jensen still can't talk, but that doesn't mean they can't communicate.

Jared sleeps hard that night, exhausted from the emotional and physical ordeal. When he wakes up, it’s fully light outside, and a different nurse, this one blonde, is changing his IV bag.

“Good morning,” she says cheerfully. “How are you feeling, Jared?”

Jared yawns. “Okay, I guess. When can I see Jensen?”

“ICU visiting hours start at ten,” she replies.

Jared picks up his phone from the bedside tray and looks at the time. It’s only 7:30. Two and a half hours to go. Also, his phone only has 22% battery. “Hey, does the gift shop have phone chargers?”

“No, but the campus bookstore does. You can call them on the room phone, there’s a directory underneath it.” She pulls a cart up to the side of the bed. “I need to get your vitals.” She holds up a blood pressure cuff. “Arm, please.”

Jared holds out his arm and she attaches the cuff. Once she’s gotten the readout she needs, she releases his arm and lets him call the campus bookstore. Luckily, they can get a volunteer to bring the charger to his room and even collect the payment for it. 

His phone is at 12% by the time the volunteer gets to his room with his charger and a Square-equipped iPad. Jared hands over his debit card and pays for it. Thank God they live in the twenty-first century. 

Jared plugs his phone in and FaceTimes Felicia and Max. Max seems a little confused by the phone, but he settles when he hears Jared’s voice, and Felicia gives him all the head pats and chin scratches that Jared can’t. He promises to call again after dinner, and Felicia agrees to give him extra treats. 

When Jared hangs up the phone, he’s pleased to see that it’s almost ten o’clock. He’s just about to push the call button when the blonde nurse shows up with a wheelchair. As she’s attaching the IV bag and oxygen tank to the chair, he asks what her name is. “Alona,” she answers. 

Alona takes him down to the ICU. Jared holds his breath as she pushes him through the door to Jensen’s room. The big tube is gone, thank God, and the face mask is back in its place. Jensen’s eyes are closed, but when he hears the door close, he opens them and they immediately crinkle up happily when he sees Jared.

Jared smiles ear to ear. “Hey, baby. You look a lot better today.”

Jensen nods. “He still isn’t supposed to talk,” Alona informs Jared. Jensen holds up a Penn State notebook and pen, which he must’ve gotten from the campus bookstore as well. He scrawls something on the first page and holds it up. _They did another fucking scope last night, but I actually do feel better now._

“I’m really glad to hear that,” says Jared, still smiling. “God, I’ve been so worried about you. You looked pretty bad last night.”

Jensen writes something else. _Don’t let the geeky exterior fool you—I’m tougher than I look._

“I’ll say!” Jared pats Jensen’s blanket-covered knee. “God, that whole tube thing scared the crap out of me.”

 _Wasn’t any fun for me either,_ responds Jensen. _But it’s gone now. Can we talk about something else?_

Jared nods. “Of course. Whatever you want.”

_Have you talked to anyone from DCLS yet? Do they know what caused the fire?_

“Well, I talked to Mark yesterday afternoon,” answers Jared. “The police and fire department are still investigating. They saw a couple of kids in the camera footage that they want to question, but that’s it so far.”

_What about the building?_

“Well, the back half is toast, literally and figuratively. Repairs would take a minimum of three months, but the circ area and the materials suffered smoke and sprinkler damage—apparently the sprinklers inside the circ area worked but ours didn’t—so they’re thinking about maybe trying to do a capital campaign for a new building in the suburbs.”

Jensen’s eyebrows shoot up. _The suburbs? Really?!_

“Yeah, they think it would be safer.”

Jensen rolls his eyes. _Wow, really? Fucking morons. I’m surprised they didn’t suggest actually moving it right into the heart of Allison Hill._

“They’re talking about trying to get capital from Paxtang and Swatara Township, but I just don’t see it happening,” adds Jared. “I figure they’ll end up just repairing the current building and maybe giving you back your INA support.”

 _I wouldn’t turn that down_ , replies Jensen. _I’d also like them to give us more/better cameras. We really need ones that point at the outsides of the doors and at the front parking area. I’m also gonna see if they’ll ban smoking on the grounds entirely and actually enforce it._

“Is this something you’ve been thinking about for a while?”

Jensen shakes his head. _No, just this morning. Believe me, I’ve had plenty of time on my hands to think about it. They wake me up every hour to check something or other. Intensive care is intensely annoying._

“Yeah, but it’s clearly helping you,” replies Jared. “It won’t be for much longer. Just try to get better so you can come up and room with me. It’s lonely on the fourth floor without you.”

 _It’s even lonelier down here_ , Jensen writes, and puts down the pen so he can grab Jared’s hand. 

Jared leans in and kisses Jensen’s forehead, then touches their foreheads together. “I love you,” murmurs Jared. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

They stay like that for a long moment. When Jared finally pulls back, Jensen very deliberately places Jared’s hand on his leg and releases it so he can pick up the pen. Then he draws a heart on the back of Jared’s hand and writes a J in the middle. Jared looks up to see Jensen’s eyes crinkled at the corners like he’s grinning widely. 

Jared grins back. “Love you, baby.”

Jensen nods firmly and puts the pen down. He taps the heart with one finger and then taps Jared’s nose. Jared’s grin gets even wider. 

“Okay, Jared, time’s up,” says Alona from behind him.

Jared doesn’t even mind. “I’ll be back in four hours.”

Jensen writes on a page and holds it up. _I’ll be right here._


	27. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen gets out of the ICU, but he's still in pretty bad shape.

Jared spends the rest of the morning texting with his supervisor and emailing back and forth with HR about paperwork for FMLA leave for himself and Jensen. Luckily, both Samantha and Loretta from HR are amenable to Jared taking several weeks off to care for Jensen. Once Jensen gets released from medical leave, he can take administrative leave with pay until Kline gets back up and running. 

In the meantime, Kline’s PSAs have the option to take any open positions they’re qualified for, and they’ll be given first preference for substitute shifts that come available. Unfortunately for the part-timers, they’re not eligible for administrative leave, so most of them will probably have to leave Kline. HR wasn’t terribly forthcoming on whether they’d be allowed to go back to Kline once it reopens. Mark, Jensen, and the full-time PSA, Lauren, will get administrative leave since there are no open positions for them to take. 

Jared’s on the phone with Loretta when his lunch arrives. He puts the phone on speaker and looks at the time. Holy shit, he didn’t realize it was almost one o’clock. He’ll get to see Jensen in a little over an hour, which is good, because he has so much news. At least it’ll be something to take Jensen’s mind off his suffering. He hasn’t said much about how he’s feeling, but Jared still feels rundown and headachy and sore from the ordeal, so he figures Jensen must be feeling ten times worse, considering all he’s undergone in the past twenty-four hours. 

The food is crap, which is pretty normal for hospital food, and Jared isn’t that hungry. His throat is still raw and sore from the smoke and nothing tastes quite right, so he eats half the turkey sandwich and the vanilla pudding and leaves the salad and apple slices on the tray. The cold milk feels good on his throat, though, and he wishes they’d given him two or three cartons instead of one. 

It’s one-thirty by the time he finishes picking at his food, so he sends one last email and hooks his phone up to the charger. He needs a break. Trying to deal with his own workplace issues is hard enough, but dealing with both his and Jensen’s is exhausting. 

He doesn’t realize he’s fallen asleep until Alona gently shakes his shoulder. “Rise and shine. It’s time to go see your boy.”

Jared blinks awake and yawns. “Yeah, thanks for waking me up.” He stretches his arms and crawls into the wheelchair. He’s glad he doesn’t have to make it down to the ICU under his own power.

Jensen seems to be asleep as well, but his eyes fly open when the door closes behind Jared and Alona, so he must have been awake. His eyes are still quite red and watery, so he must have just been resting them. He grins when he sees Jared, but it’s not as bright this time. 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” asks Jared in a low voice. 

Jensen shrugs and picks up his pen. _Like shit, but I’ve been told that’s “normal.”_

“I’m sorry.” Jared wishes he could take the hand Jensen’s not writing with, but it’s still covered with a thick pad of gauze. “What happened to your hand, anyway?”

_There was a piece of glass embedded in my stomach from the window frame. I didn’t realize, and I cut my hand open on it._

Jared winces. “Jesus Christ.” He rubs Jensen’s arm above the bandage. “Hey, I’ve got news.” He tells Jensen everything he learned from Loretta in HR. 

Jensen’s face gradually clouds over with frustration and anger. He scribbles furiously on the pad. _So not only did I lose half my building, I’m also losing more than half my staff. So I get to keep Lauren, who I don’t even fucking want, but I have to lose Osric, Felicia, and Briana? Putain de merde, je déteste tout ce moment._

Jared doesn’t know what the last sentence means, but he gets the idea. “Just try not to worry about it for now. There’s nothing you can do from in here. Stressing about it isn’t going to help you get better.”

Jensen doesn’t respond for a long moment. Finally, he writes, _You’re right. But it’s so boring in here, there’s nothing else to think about._

“Think about Max,” replies Jared. “And me. Relive our greatest hits. Plan our imaginary wedding and honeymoon. I mean, I know this whole thing sucks, but there’s so much other stuff in your life that’s good. Focus on that. The rest will take care of itself.” He smiles softly and traces a heart on Jensen’s arm. “I love you. I know I can’t always be with you in body, but I can in spirit.”

Jensen’s face softens. His eyes crinkle up just the tiniest bit. _When did you get your psychiatry degree? ‘Cause that’s pretty good advice._

“Ed psych 115 and 215 in college,” answers Jared with a grin. 

“Time’s up, Jared,” says Alona from behind him.

Jared grimaces. “I gotta go. I’ll be back down at six, though.” He kisses his fingers and presses them to Jensen’s pale cheek. “Love you.”

_Love you too, Jay,_ Jensen writes in big letters, then draws a heart around it. _See you later._

Jared smiles. “Count on it, babe.”

* * *

Jared spends his afternoon texting Osric and Briana and FaceTiming Felicia and Max at the house. He can’t wait to get home and into his own bed and shower. Felicia says Max has been subdued, but is still eating and walking, so Jared figures it’s just because he misses them so much. Jared can’t blame him. Under the circumstances, he and Jensen have been pretty subdued as well. 

It’s about five o’clock when Jared hears a noise in the hallway that he assumes is the food cart, but when he looks up, he sees Jensen in a wheelchair, tethered to an IV bag and a nasal cannula only.

“Jensen! Hey!” Jared beams as a male orderly wheels Jensen to the bed opposite Jared. The orderly gets Jensen settled and hands him his notebook and pen.

_I’m free!_ Jensen writes in huge letters and flashes the page at Jared.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” says Jared, and his huge smile still hasn’t left his face.

_You and me both_ , Jensen writes back.

“Although, it’s not quite the same without your voice,” Jared admits, his smile faltering. “When do you get to talk again?”

Jensen frowns. _I’m on complete vocal rest for two weeks, and the doc’ll decide then if it has to continue._

“Oh, man,” blurts Jared. “That sucks.”

_Don’t I know it._ Jensen runs out of room on the page and flips it over to a new one. _I need a dry-erase board or something, I guess._

“Well, I’m getting out of here tomorrow, so I can pick one up at Kmart on the way home,” says Jared.

Jensen sighs, but it turns into a coughing fit that sounds horribly rough and painful.

“Are you okay?” Jared asks when Jensen finally quiets.

Jensen shakes his head and writes on the page. _I hate when that happens._

“Does it happen a lot?”

_Too much._

Jared bites his lip. “Is it getting better?”

_Not fast enough._ Jensen drags his unbandaged wrist across his forehead, and for the first time Jared notices the light sheen of sweat on his face from the exertion. Jared’s throat tightens. He had no idea Jensen was in such bad shape. But he’s out of the ICU, which should mean he’s a lot better, right?

Jensen slumps back against his pillow and Jared is stunned to see just how much the coughing fit took out of him. “Get some rest, babe,” Jared says softly. “I’ll be here. I’ll always be here.”

Jensen gives him a weak thumbs-up. Seconds later, he’s asleep.

He doesn’t wake up until the orderly with the food cart delivers their evening meals. Jared’s is Salisbury steak, macaroni and cheese, and a fruit cup, none of which look terribly edible, but Jensen’s is completely different: a can of chocolate Ensure, applesauce, red jello, and the same vanilla pudding Jared had at lunchtime. It dawns on Jared that if Jensen’s throat is too damaged to talk, it must also be too damaged to handle solid food.

But why? Jensen was out of the smoke for longer than Jared was, so why was he so much worse off? 

Jared chokes down as much of his meal as he can stand, and then watches as Jensen struggles through his own. It must be horribly painful to swallow, because Jensen is nearly in tears by the time he finishes the can of Ensure. He takes only one or two tiny bites of everything else, and finally he picks up his notebook and turns it toward Jared. _You want the rest of this crap?_

“Sure,” answers Jared, figuring that the hospital can’t screw up canned stuff too badly. He carefully climbs off the bed and leans as far as his IV line will allow to grab Jensen’s tray. Jared finishes the small servings in no time.

“How are you holding up?” asks Jared once he’s set both trays aside.

Jensen shrugs. _I’m alive. Guess that’s all I can ask for._

“Well, I’m certainly glad you are,” Jared tells him, smiling softly. “I just wish you were feeling better, that’s all.”

_Yeah, me too. :(_

Jensen pauses and starts writing again. _Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel normal again._

“You will,” insists Jared. “It’ll take time—more time than you want, I’m sure—but it’ll happen.”

Jensen writes something, pauses, and then crosses it out. Unable to think of anything else, he sets the notebook aside, shrugs, and turns away.


End file.
